By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The game started with Mike James getting honored once more as the all-time top scorer of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, however, it ended with EA7 Emporio Armani Milan getting the win.
The Italians prevailed 98-80 and kept their very slim chances of making it to the play-ins, while AS Monaco lost valuable ground at home in the race for the home-court advantage and was defeated after eight straight wins.
To be exact, Monaco with a 19-11 record is now tied with Fenerbahce and Panathinaikos between the third and the fifth spot of the standings, while Milan at 13-17 still has a fighting chance for the 10th spot.
Nikola Mirotic with 21 points led a balanced offensive effort, which included Maodo Lo with 15 points (photo), Stefano Tonut (13 p.), Devon Hall (14 p.), and Nicolo Melli (10 p.) while Shavon Shields also scored 10 points and became the top scorer in the EuroLeague history of the club.
“It was a very important game for us, after a taught loss in Vitoria to Baskonia, so we knew that we had to step up defensively”, said Mirotic, “we know that for us every game is now a final”.
For Monaco, Alpha Diallo with 17 points was the leading scorer and Jordan Loyd added 14.
Milan’s big night
The guests started the game strong, leading 27-20 after the first period, getting even a 14-point advantage at the end of the first half (58-44) after two threes by Tonut who had 11 points after 16 minutes of action.
However, Lo was even more impressive with 13 points, two assists, and two steals in just eight minutes of play in the first two quarters.
On the other side, Kemba Walked had 10 points in nine first-half minutes. He didn’t score after that.
The push of Milan continued, as the guests got a 19-point lead (69-50) after the 13th point of Mirotic in the game, and despite the reaction of Monaco, the hosts were trailing by nine (76-67) entering the last period.
“I don’t want to search for excuses but we didn’t have the energy we usually have”, said Monaco coach Sasa Obradovic, “we gave them so many easy things, that we usually don’t do”.
The fourth quarter started with a three by Alpha Diallo (76-70), however, the answer by Milan was an 11-0 run (87-70) with Mirotic making key baskets and Monaco finishing the game with 9/31 threes, 10 assists, and 11 turnovers.
As Milan coach Ettore Messina added: “I think my players played a very good game, they were extremely focused on the defense and much more aggressive on offense. As I said before the game all the things that happened this year affect our self-confidence, but it’s a good win and now we are focused on the next one”.
Photo credit: Olimpia Milan