By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan is riding the wave and proved it on the road against Barcelona.
The Italians got the 94-81 win and jumped to a 9-6 record, good enough for a tie with Olypiacos and Zalgiris on the 5th spot, while the hosts dropped to 8-7.
Zach LeDay registered a new career high with 33 points, while Nikola Mirotic, in his first game with Milan’s jersey against his former team, had 19 points and seven rebounds.
As coach Ettore Messina said: “We are growing, we faced a major challenge against a very good team. But in this EuroLeague, every game is a new challenge. We celebrate today, and we will keep working”.
Kevin Punter with 21 points and Justin Anderson with 17 tried to turn things around, but couldn’t
Alex Abrines missed the game with a stomach ache.
An amazing 20-0 run
Barcelona closed the first half leading 43-40, however, Milan had managed to turn the tide after trailing 24-16 at the end of the first period with Mirotic and LeDay taking action.
Still, Barcelona turned things around and got a 55-46 lead after less than five minutes of action in the second half.
But once again, Milan reacted and had a 20-0 run, taking the 76-60 lead with LeDay reaching the 21-point mark at the end of the third quarter.
That was the end of it. Barcelona tried, but couldn’t get into sticking distance again until the final buzzer.
Photo credit: EuroLeague