By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
As the final 82-80 indicates, things were not easy in Belgrade, however, Milan got the job done.
After this result, the Italians are tied at 16-13 together with Paris Basketball and Crvena Zvezda between the sixth and the eighth position, waiting for the results of Partizan and Barcelona, which are currently half a step behind them (15-13).
Milan also has the tie-breaker over Zvezda with two wins over the Serbs.
Nikola Mirotic with 19 points, Zack LeDay with 15, and Shavon Shields with 14 made things happen for the winning side, including making some key free throws down the end.
“It was a team effort. It’s always a pleasure to play here. Both teams had an important game, and we stepped up defensively. It was a game with a lot of ups and downs, but we wanted a chance to win. That was our first goal—we reached that point, and with a bit of luck, we won. We are happy, but we have to continue working; there are six more finals to play,” Mirotic said after the game.
Zvezda had an off-shooting night with six made threes in 21 attempts, and the duo of Nemanja Nedovic and Nikola Kalinic, with 12 points each, were the top scorers, but Kalinic in the end wasted the last chance of his team to tie or win the game.
The really bad news for Zvezda, however, was the apparent knee injury of Joel Bolomboy in the closing minutes of the game.
Decided on the closing seconds
Despite a quick 17-10 lead for Crvena Zvezda, Milan was trailing by one point (24-23) at the end of the first period, and everything was still open.
Milan took the lead with the first basket of the second quarter (25-24) by Leandro Bolmaro and stretched it to six points (33-27) after a three by Mirotic. Zvezda got the lead back quickly (37-35), and entering the last two minutes of the first half, the score was tied at 43.
Thanks to three free throws by Shavon Shields, Milan was up by three at halftime (48-45) and pushed their lead to six (59-53) in the third period. Despite Zvezda’s pressure, Milan closed the period up by four (68-64), and the game turned into a dogfight.
With Joel Bolomboy scoring four straight points, the score was tied at 72 with seven minutes left in the game. With the game on the line, Shields gave Milan a two-point lead (80-78), Filip Petrusev missed, and with seven seconds left, Zach LeDay got the rebound and got fouled.
He missed the first and made the second (81-78) as Zvezda got the timeout. Nemanja Nedovic was fouled with five seconds on the clock, made both (81-80), and Milan took their timeout. This time, Mirotic was fouled and also made one (82-80), and Nikola Kalinic lost control of the ball as he was dribbling in the closing second with Zvezda ultimately not being able to try a final shot.
“A very important victory for us. We played three very good quarters, finding our shots despite very aggressive defense on a very difficult court.In the last 10 minutes, both teams were very nervous because everyone knew how important this game was. Both teams missed shots, and in the end, it all came down to the play where we created space for Shavon and made three good defensive stops. We missed some free throws that could have allowed us to relax, but we bounced back after a tough loss, we are fighting, and we are still in the game,” said Ettore Messina at the press conference.
Photo credit: EuroLeague