Βy Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
It was one of those nights, and Fenerbahce couldn’t be denied.
Despite playing on the road, the Turkish side executed admirably, and EA7 Emporio Armani Milan lost during the game Nikola Mirotic and Freddie Gillespie.
That’s why the final 100-76 felt inevitable as Fenerbahce moved to a 19-9 record and Milan dropped to 15-13, still fighting for the play-ins.
Errick McCollum with 18 points, Wade Baldwin with 15, and Nigel Hayes-Davis led a balanced effort for the winning side.
On the other hand, Shavon Shiels had 17 points, and the duo of Zach LeDay and Mirotic scored 11 points each.
“In the second quarter, we didn’t play any kind of defense and we allowed them to play in transition and to attack on 1-on-1 without any opposition. It was a very poor performance, in the beginning of the third we had injuries and the game was over,” Ettore Messina showed disappointment in the aftermath.
“The main concern is the level of injuries of [Freddie] Gillespie and [Nikola] Mirotic, that seemed both series. We’ll see and wait for the next hours to know something,” he added.
A show from Fenerbahce
Despite Mirotic and Shields scoring 11 and 12 points, respectively, in the first half, Fenerbahce simply couldn’t miss. The guests closed the first period up by five (24-19) and extended their advantage to 16 points (53-37) at halftime, thanks to a stellar offensive performance.
Fenerbahce had 65% efficiency in two-pointers (13/20) and 66.7% in threes (8/12), with Wade Baldwin being the only scorer in double-digits with 10 points and 4/4 FG.
Nothing changed in the third, with Fenerbahce extending their lead to 17 points (64-48) and closing the period up by 20 (76-56).
The guests couldn’t be denied; they opened the last quarter with a 7-1 run to make the score 83-57, and the game was over with Fenerbahce leading even by 30 points (100-70).
PHOTO CREDIT: Gettyimages