In a matter of days, Real Madrid have gone from searching for solutions to their struggles from beyond the arc to rewriting the record books of Spanish basketball. Pedro Martínez’s side have found a way to take their offensive firepower to another level through their outside shooting, putting together three performances that point to a dramatic change in fortunes: 20 three-pointers against Surne Bilbao Basket, 21 against Maccabi Tel Aviv and 24 against iLERNA Lleida. The scoring explosion stands in stark contrast to the doubts that surrounded the team at the start of the season. Indeed, Madrid have scored 111 points against ASVEL Villeurbanne, 119 against Bilbao Basket, 113 on the road against Maccabi and 122 away to Lleida in their last four games. All four totals came without overtime.
Ever since Pedro Martínez took over on the Madrid bench, it was clear that the three-pointer would be a major weapon in the veteran coach’s offensive playbook. Yet despite winning the EuroLeague Super Cup, Los Blancos struggled in that department at the start of the campaign, losing their first three games of the EuroLeague regular season. During that spell, Martínez repeatedly voiced his frustration. It was not simply that his team was shooting well below 40% from beyond the arc on a regular basis; they were also taking fewer three-pointers than he wanted.
Over the past week, however, the turnaround has been nothing short of remarkable. In the space of just four days, Madrid broke their franchise records for three-pointers made in both the Liga Endesa and the EuroLeague. First, they knocked down 20 of 42 attempts against Bilbao Basket, shooting 48%. Then, in their road win over Maccabi, they raised the bar in Europe with 21 makes on 40 attempts, a superb 52.5%. Just two games, but enough to suggest that the tide was turning.
The hot streak continued on Sunday in Lleida, in another Spanish league fixture. Real Madrid did not merely maintain their momentum; they took it to another level. They cruised to an 86–122 victory, making 24 of their 45 three-point attempts for a remarkable 53.3%. That set a new all-time record for three-pointers made in a Liga Endesa game, surpassing the previous mark of 23 shared by Unicaja and Baskonia. Théo Maledon’s three-pointer in the final second put the finishing touch on a historic performance and capped an extraordinary week for Los Blancos.
The French duo of Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot and Maledon were particularly impressive. Luwawu-Cabarrot finished with 31 points and five rebounds, earning a performance index rating of 35 and the MVP award for Round 5 of the Liga Endesa. His display helped Madrid remain the league’s outright leaders, having won every game so far. The Frenchman caught fire in the fourth quarter, hitting five consecutive three-pointers without a miss, on his way to seven for the game, some of them from extremely difficult positions.
Maledon, meanwhile, continued his outstanding run of form, also draining seven three-pointers and finishing with 27 points. Dominican guard Andrés Feliz once again showed his range from beyond the arc, adding three triples at the Barris Nord arena. Feliz had already made eight and four three-pointers in his previous two EuroLeague outings against ASVEL and Maccabi, respectively. Against the Israeli side, Facundo Campazzo also joined the party, knocking down five shots from downtown as Madrid’s red-hot perimeter attack overwhelmed the opposition.
With so many games packed into a season, trends can change quickly. Nevertheless, the contrast with Madrid’s opening weeks is striking. Martínez has stuck to his approach despite the early lack of accuracy, and his players’ growing confidence is beginning to pay off. Madrid are finding their rhythm, moving the ball more fluidly and giving themselves more ways to punish opponents from different spots on the floor.
The results speak for themselves. They sit alone at the top of the Liga Endesa standings and have moved into the EuroLeague play-in places, currently sitting seventh ahead of a demanding double-header this week: a trip to Baskonia followed by a home game against Fenerbahçe.
As Martínez himself acknowledged after the win in Lleida, maintaining this extraordinary level of three-point shooting will be no easy task, either in terms of volume or accuracy. The Catalan coach knows his team will need alternative solutions for the nights when the outside shot is not such a reliable ally.
One thing, however, is becoming increasingly clear: Martínez’s philosophy is starting to take hold. Real Madrid have the talent and collective play required to make life miserable for their opponents when their shooters are as red-hot as they have been over their last four games. Above 110 points, the three-pointer is no longer a missing piece. It is becoming the driving force behind Madrid’s offensive surge.
