MADRID — Avery Bradley scored 17 points and the Boston Celtics ended their two-game European tour with a 111-96 victory over Real Madrid on Thursday.
Two days after a 33-point victory over Italy’s Olimpia Milano, the Celtics looked good again, this time against a much more experienced Real Madrid team playing in front of its raucous fans.
Isaiah Thomas had 15 points for Boston, Terry Rozier added 14 points, and David Lee finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. The Celtics led by as many as 25 points at the Barclaycard Center.
“That was a great test for our team,” Boston Coach Brad Stevens said. “They made us pay for a bunch of mistakes as we knew they would. I thought our guys did a pretty good job throughout the whole night. It was a good atmosphere and a good game to have to play. Hopefully that will be a game that will help us move forward.”
Boston played short-handed because of illnesses and personal matters. Amir Johnson sat out because of a respiratory illness that affected many of the players after the team arrived from Italy, and Perry Jones had to return to the United States because of a death in his family. Evan Turner sat out because of a right knee strain.
Many players were under the weather and got limited playing time, giving Stevens a chance to test new rotations and take a closer look at his backups.
“I thought that Amir’s absence was obvious in some of the stuff where we came up a little bit short on the defensive end,” Stevens said. “But I thought it was good that we got to see a bunch of different guys play and I was pretty pleased with the way our young guys played at the end of the game.”
Former Los Angeles Clippers center Trey Thompkins had 21 points and eight rebounds for Real Madrid.
Real Madrid, a nine-time European champion, shot only 37.6 percent from the floor.
It was the teams’ first meeting since 1988, when Boston won 111-96 in a tournament in Madrid.
NOTES
THE NBA is investigating an incident between Grizzlies forward Matt Barnes and Knicks coach and former teammate Derek Fisher, a situation Barnes said is a “personal matter” involving someone who was a good friend at one point.
A person with knowledge of the situation said the incident occurred last Saturday while Fisher was at a gathering at the home of Barnes’ estranged wife, Gloria Govan.
At Knicks’ practice Thursday in Greenburgh, New York, Fisher wouldn’t comment when asked if he might press charges.
Fisher spentmost of his playing career in Los Angeles, where his children remain. The second-year coach missed practice Monday – the team announced it was for personal reasons – and Fisher said Thursday plane issues delayed his return.
THE PELICANS say 7-foot center Omer Asik is expected to be sidelined about three weeks with a right calf strain.
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