Real Madrid took the lead and were able to do what seemed like an odyssey: winning both games in Belgrade to bring the tie back to Madrid. The Wizink, where Partizan won the first two duels of the series, will decide on Wednesday who will be in the final four.
The start of the fourth game at Stark Arena had nothing to do with the previous one. And not only because the hostile climate that Madrid found itself on Tuesday (after the massive brawl) was replaced by a rigorous and immense respect. Mourning over the shooting at a school in the Serbian capital the day before permeated the preview. The local players wore the name of Vladislav Ribnikar’s school on their shirts and both teams read memorial statements to the nine victims. The fans, after the minute of silence, threw white roses onto the court. But, in addition, the exit of the whites was totally different. On Tuesday, Partizan went 12-0. Instead, the first basket this time was from an inspired Hanga. Between him and Musa, Madrid opened an early advantage and reached the maximum difference (13-27) before the first quarter.
Partizan entered the game thanks to Papapetrou’s shots and an unstoppable LeDay (25 points), to the point that Madrid only won by three at halftime.
At halftime, the atmosphere changed. The fans were once again intimidating with a noisy choral scenography. An Exum protest, which ended with a technical, heated up the court even more. And finally, after 25 minutes, Partizan managed to get ahead on the scoreboard. At that delicate moment, Tavares appeared to score seven points almost in a row and give Madrid oxygen (55-61).
However, the injury of Deck, who was returning after the penalty and was very safe (14 p.), caused a final reaction from Partizan, who made it two with 1m19s left. With water up to his neck, Tavares (15) appeared again to catch a rebound and score a decisive 2 1 for a Madrid that finished with 17 of 19 free throws, which was basic.