2014 Euroleague Final Four

All times are CEST (UTC+2).

CSKA Moscow vs. Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv

CSKA Moscow entered their semi-final match up against Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv, having won both regular season meetings. It looked like Moscow would make it 3–0 on the year, when they took a 55–40 lead, late in the third quarter. However, led by guard Tyrese Rice, and support from a large majority of the fans in attendance, Maccabi launch a fourth quarter comeback. Rice's steal and layup, with 5 seconds to play, gave Maccabi a 68–67 lead, and Sonny Weems missed a contested three pointer at the buzzer. Maccabi's David Blu led all scorers with 15 points.[3]

CSKA Moscow v Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv

16 May 2014	CSKA Moscow	67–68	Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv	Mediolanum Forum, Milan
18:00	Scoring by quarter: 19–16, 19–14, 17–15, 12–23
	Pts: Kaun 14 Rebs: Khryapa 10 Asts: Weems 6	Report	Pts: Blu 15 Rebs: Smith 9 Asts: Ohayon 4	Attendance: 11,843 Referees: Sasa Pukl (SLO), Milivoje Jovčić (SRB), Borys Ryzhyk (UKR)

FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid

Real Madrid entered the Final Four as the clear favorite, having recorded the highest point differential in both group (plus 237) and Final 16 play (plus 143). Between the two stages, they held a 24–4 overall record.[3]

After FC Barcelona got off to a 12–4 start, the semifinal game was all Real Madrid. Real scored 14 3-pointers, and played at a blistering pace, to beat their Spanish rivals for the fifth time in six games on the year. Real's Sergio Rodríguez led all-scorers with 21 points, followed by teammate Nikola Mirotić, who scored 19. Three other Real players scored more than 10 points.[3]

FC Barcelona v Real Madrid

16 May 2014	FC Barcelona	62–100	Real Madrid	Mediolanum Forum, Milan
21:00 CET	Scoring by quarter: 20–20, 17–25, 11–28, 14–27
	Pts: Tomić 16 Rebs: Tomić 8 Asts: Huertas 6	Report	Pts: Rodríguez 21 Rebs: Llull, Slaughter 5 Asts: Rodríguez 6	Attendance: 11,843 Referees: Christos Christodoulou (GRE), Ilija Belošević (SRB), Robert Lottermoser (GER)

Juan Carlos Navarro of FC Barcelona, became the EuroLeague's all-time leader in three-point field goals made, after hitting three three-point field goals during the game.[4]

FC Barcelona v CSKA Moscow

18 May 2014	FC Barcelona	93–78	CSKA Moscow	Mediolanum Forum, Milan
17:00 (CET)	Scoring by quarter: 21–24, 29–23, 19–17, 24–14
	Pts: Navarro 20 Rebs: Dorsey 12 Asts: Huertas 7	Report	Pts: Kaun 12 Rebs: Khryapa 4 Asts: Khryapa 7	Attendance: 11,843 (Tentative) Referees: Robert Lottermoser (GER), Fernando Rocha (POR), Rüştü Nuran (TUR)

Before the game, Real Madrid was heavily favored, as they sought a league-record ninth title. Real got off to a good start, taking an 11-point lead in the first half, behind a 19–2 run.[5] However, Maccabi Tel Aviv fought back with a series of fast breaks, and trailed by just two points, at half time.[5][6]

It looked as if Maccabi would come out on top, after a back-and-forth second half, that gave them a four-point lead, with under a minute to play.[5] However, Real hit four consecutive free throws, from Sergio Rodríguez and Ioannis Bourousis, to tie the game.[6] Tyrese Rice missed a three pointer at the buzzer, that would have given Maccabi the win.[5] Instead, the final went to overtime, for the first time since 1969.[6] Rice dominated in overtime, scoring 14, as Maccabi pulled away, for a 98–86 win.[5] In total, Rice scored 21 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.[6] Rodriguez led Real with 21 points.[6]

The win gave Maccabi their sixth league title.[5] For Real Madrid, it was the second consecutive year in which they lost in the final game.[6]

Real Madrid v Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv

18 May 2014	Real Madrid	86–980(OT)	Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv	Mediolanum Forum, Milan
20:00 (CET)	Scoring by quarter: 16–15, 19–18, 20–20, 18–20, Overtime: 13–25
	Pts: Rodríguez 21 Rebs: Bourousis 9 Asts: Llull 8	Report	Pts: Rice 26 Rebs: Tyus 11 Asts: Hickman 8	Attendance: 11,843 Referees: Christos Christodoulou (GRE), Sasa Pukl (SLO), Milivoje Jovčić (SRB)

Real Madrid

Maccabi

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 23 Sergio Llull 0 2 8 SG 5 Rudy Fernández 15 8 4 SF 21 Tremmell Darden 7 7 0 PF 11 Nikola Mirotić 12 7 1 C 30 Ioannis Bourousis 12 9 0 Reserves: F 9 Felipe Reyes 12 6 0 F 11 Dani Díez 0 0 0 G 13 Sergio Rodríguez 21 2 2 G 20 Jaycee Carroll 5 1 0 F 44 Marcus Slaughter 2 0 0 C 50 Salah Mejri 0 1 0 Head coach: Pablo Laso

Rules The games was played under official FIBA rules. Mediolanum Forum 2013–14 Euroleague Champions Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 6th Title

Starters: Pts Reb Ast PG 12 Yogev Ohayon 4 5 1 SG 7 Ricky Hickman 18 6 3 SF 6 Devin Smith 15 7 0 PF 10 Guy Pnini 0 2 2 C 21 Sofoklis Schortsanitis 9 3 1 Reserves: G 4 Tyrese Rice 26 4 2 G 8 Joe Ingles 0 1 0 C 9 Alex Tyus 12 11 0 F 13 David Blu 14 4 1 C 14 Ben Altit DNP F 15 Sylven Landesberg DNP C 11 Andrija Žižić DNP Head coach: David Blatt

Maccabi's surprise win led to wild celebrations, as the club's fans filled Tel Aviv's Rabin Square. Israeli President Shimon Peres, called to congratulate the team, saying "I watched the whole game, and nearly had a heart attack. You are heroes, and have brought incredible pride to the state of Israel."[6] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also offered his personal congratulations.[6]

Spanish fans expressed their frustration on Twitter. An estimated 18,000 such tweets contained anti-Semitic language, prompting a lawsuit by local Jewish communities, and an official apology by the league.[7][8]

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