By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Olimpia Milano made a 15-2 run at the start of the last period going ahead in double-digits and keeping the distance for a 90-78 home win over Darussafaka in Round 22 of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Curtis Jerrells ignited the crucial run with eight and finished the game with 16 points (4-6 triples). Mike James scored 18 points while Mindaugas Kuzminskas banked 19 points and eight rebounds recording game-high 28 PIR.
Toney Douglas tried to push Darussafaka with 21 points (5-8 from deep) while Kartal Ozmizrak added 11 points.
Despite making only three shots from deep compared to Darussafaka’s six, Milano found a way to go ahead 40-36 at halftime. It was mostly thanks to Kuzminskas and James who banked almost half (nine each) of their team’s points in the first twenty minutes.
Although Milano opened the second half better almost grabbing a double-digit lead (49-40), the Turkish team quickly recovered and took over the lead thanks to Douglas’ nine points in the third quarter (61-60). However, the home squad caught fire in the fourth quarter and secured the win.
“I think my players had a solid game, because we stayed on the game plan and didn’t suffer too much on rebounds, like maybe we could expect against a team like Darussafaka. We waited and kept using the right choices on offense. We stayed in the game, in control, and in the last quarter we accelerated and won a game which is very important for us. It is important to give confidence to my team because it is a new team now and we have to discover new situations. With this attitude, we can keep competing with everybody.”, Milano coach Simone Pianigiani noted after the match.
Milano improved to 11-11 tying themselves with Baskonia and Bayern while Darussafaka stayed at the bottom with 3-19.
Photo Credit: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague