Llull's late heroics lead Real Madrid past Maccabi

In an intense battle between Turkish Airlines Euroleague classics, Real Madrid improved to 4-1 in Top 16 Group F by edging previously undefeated Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 74-68 in the Spanish capital on Thursday. Madrid and Maccabi join a three-way tie with CSKA Moscow for first place in Group F, each with a 4-1 record. Sergio Llull paced the winners with 20 points, including Madrid's last 8 in the final 100 seconds. Rudy Fernandez added 16 points and 8 rebounds for Madrid. Sofoklis Schortsanitis and Guy Pnini led Maccabi with 15 points apiece. Ricky Hickman added 11 for the guests. Nikola Mirotic and Fernandez shined early to give Madrid a 16-8 lead. An unstoppable Schortsanitis and a three-pointer by Joe Ingles allowed Maccabi to get a 19-20 edge after 10 minutes. Madrid improved its defense, as Llull and Felipe Reyes gave the hosts to get a 39-35 edge at halftime. Pnini took over after the break, getting help from Devin Smith and Hickman for a 56-57 Maccabi lead through three quarters. Schortsanitis and Tyrese Rice gave Maccabi a 64-66 lead with over three minutes left but Llull sank back-to-back three-pointers and soon added free throws to lead Madrid to a very important home win.