An incredible 20-0 run in the third period gives EA7 sixth place in the standings
Another round, another victory for EA7: Milan crushes Barcelona 94-81, achieving their sixth consecutive success (eighth in nine games) in the Euroleague. It’s Nikola Mirotic’s game (19 points and 7 rebounds), who on the day of his return to the Palau Blaugrana proved to be fundamental in putting Messina’s men into the game after a complicated start. But above all it is the game of Zach LeDay (33 points with a very clean 4/4 from the arc), who in the third quarter makes the charge with triples, fueling the heavy 20-0 run that will be decisive for the victory. Kevin Punter – the other ex of the evening – worries Olimpia paired with Anderson (38 points between them), but their contribution is not enough to compensate for the disastrous second half of the Spaniards.
BALANCE
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Olimpia got off to a tight start: the only one to respond right away was Mirotic, the great ex of the match. The Spaniards are better, as they are at ease in one-on-one situations and also prove to be dangerous from the perimeter: Barcelona’s 10/17 from the field against Milan’s meager 4/12 is the clear snapshot of the first quarter. Diop, coming off the bench, provided the emotional impetus needed for EA7 to get back on track in the second half. And when LeDay Milano is added to the Senegalese center, he begins to show his true face, the one that is worth the second best attack in the Euroleague. Anderson – the most brilliant of the Blaugrana – keeps his team ahead with a triple at the end of the first half, but now the gap is thin: we return to the locker room with Barcelona ahead 43-40.
OLIMPIA FLIES AWAY
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In the second half a couple of adverse whistles unnerved Messina’s men: the other former excellent player, Kevin Punter, commanded the operations for the Spaniards, who attacked again. But in the most complicated moment of the match, Milan finally regains its usual confidence from the perimeter: Shields joins the excellent LeDay this time, the sensational 20-0 partial in favor of EA7 completely overturns the inertia and now it’s Olimpia that flies away. Barcelona entered a prolonged break and so the last quarter was little more than a formality for Milan, who won by a landslide 81-94.
Barcelona: Punter 21, Anderson 17, Vesely 13
Milan: LeDay 33, Mirotic 19, Shields 11
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