The former James dominates the match and is the best scorer of the evening with 21 points: the Milan point guard on the other hand is out of the 12 due to technical choice
– Milan
Olimpia doesn’t get back up. At the Mediolanum Forum the Messina team suffers their fourth consecutive defeat, the fifth in six games of this Euroleague. Two days after the match against Maccabi the tiredness is felt, the attack suffers terribly and produces very little. Monaco, led by a sumptuous Mike James, wins 72-66 at the end of a balanced match resolved by the American’s play. Milan’s offensive phase was too static, and they paid dearly for their mistakes at the end.
Better defenses
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Messina leaves Pangos in the stands due to a technical choice (close cut?) and decides to change the quintet: inside Tonut with Lo, then Shields, Mirotic and Melli. The former Pelicans player leads Olimpia’s defense very well, allowing Monaco just 13 points in the first quarter. The Italian champions’ attack struggles and often reaches the 24-minute mark without having produced a real advantage: Shields forces several shots but is still his best scorer, with 10 points at half-time. Unlike the great offensive performance against Maccabi (32 points in the first quarter alone), Milan produced 37 points in the first half against the Monegasques, but thanks to an attentive defense (6 steals) they closed ahead by two points (37-35). .
James domain
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The third quarter opens with errors and foul problems: Melli (fourth foul) comes out after less than three minutes, Monaco starts with a 6-0 run and forces Messina to time out. The Milanese attack finds no solutions: Lo never sees the basket, Shields loses too many balls, and it is Devon Hall who keeps Olimpia in contact. However, Obradovic’s team manages to be more incisive: Diallo first and two incredible triples from Mike James give the guests a 52-48 lead before the last 10 minutes. Milan’s offensive difficulties continue, the French defend well and take advantage of James’ ability to open the field for his teammates. After an endless series of errors, Shields keeps his team in the game supported by 6 points from Melli, but it is still Mike James who closes the game, with a sensational side step from three with 14 seconds left.
Olimpia Milan: Shields 17, Hall 15, Mirotic 9
Monk: James 21, Diallo 13, Blossomgame 8
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