By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Mirotic is missing and Milan had to compensate for this with his heart.
When all was said and done, the “Red Shoes” got the 89-87 road win over Zalgiris in Kaunas.
It was a very crucial result for both sides, with Milan at 14-12 staying in the first 10 spots of the standings of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, while the Lithuanians dropped to 12-14.
Zach LeDay with 26 points, Nico Mannion with 21 points, seven rebounds, six assists – and also five turnovers – plus Shavon Shields with 17 points made things happen for the winners.
Sylvain Fransisco put on a show with 29 points, Lonny Walker added 22, and Deividas Sirvydis added 17 points for Zalgiris.
“The team didn’t lose confidence and continued to play, fought on every possession. Never easy to bounce back from a tough loss, in Zalgiris court. To win here is really an event, I’m really proud. This group has character and hopefully, we can build on this,” Ettore Messina proudly said.
A real thriller
Milan created some distance in the last two minutes of the first quarter, closing it up by eight (26-18) and this proved to be enough.
The Italians, with the first basket of the second period, extended their advantage to 10 points (28-18), and despite the Zalgiris’ effort, Milan closed the first half leading 50-42 and opened the second by creating a 10-point cushion (52-42) after a shot by Nicollo Mannion.
Zalgiris turned the tables in the third quarter, closing the gap to one point after an 11-0 run to end the period (67-66). Still, Milan got the lead and extended it with a four-point play by Manion to start the last quarter (71-66).
That changed after a three by Sylvain Fransisco (73-71) only for Shavon Shields to answer back (74-73) and give the lead back to the guests. And then it was Mannion’s time, to score the most crucial points of the game keeping a three-point distance (78-75).
Leandro Bolmaro added one of two free throws (79-75), and Leday contributed two more, creating a six-point cushion (81-75) with two minutes left. Zalgiris didn’t give up and Lonny Walker made it a two-point game (84-82) with one minute left.
LeDay answered back (86-82), Walker did the same (86-84), LeDay added two more free throws (88-84), and with 15 seconds left, Francisco lost the ball giving Milan a winning advantage.
Shields added one free throw, and Walker scored a three almost at the buzzer for the final 89-87.
“I believe we played a great game in the second half, we deserved more. Nothing to say to my players, they gave everything and people understood that: we had their support. I’m really proud of my players, we found a way to come back. We played the best possible game,” Trinchieri commented.