By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
On a very crucial dual with post-season implications, Paris Basketball not only defended their home court but got a crucial advantage over Milan.
The final score was 92-79, good enough for Paris to get the tie-breaker over the Italians, having also an edge over them with a 17-13 record and the 6th spot of the standings at the moment, while Milan dropped to 16-14.
Once more TJ Shorts with 24 points and 10 assists made things happen, while Maodo Lo (photo) and Sebastian Herrera added 13 points each, a EuroLeague career-high for Herrera.
“This was a very important win, we know what the standings look like”, said Shorts to EuroLeague TV after the game, “to win like this at home, it’s huge in this league. Even in our downtimes, the flow is the same, we really have the energy, and we have the vibes. Win or lose, we are going to be ourselves.
Milan got 18 points from Fabien Causeur, who did his damage mainly in the third period, and Nico Mannion added 17. Zach LeDay had 14 and Nikola Mirotic was contained to six points on just 1/5 FG.
Paris in control
Paris opened the first quarter leading by four (22-18) and extended their lead to nine with five unanswered points (27-18). Milan tried to react, but with five minutes left in the second quarter, Paris was up by 10 (34-24).
The halftime score was 48-37 with Paris scoring at will, while Milan had already 10 turnovers and Nico Mannion with 15 points tried to keep his team close. For the home side, Shorts already had 12 points and six assists.
Paris’ lead extended to 56-39 with Shorts making his first three and Sebastian Herrera adding one more. Milan’s reaction was a 10-2 run (58-49) with Fabien Causeur scoring six of those points, Mirotic with two free throws made it even a seven-point game (58-51) but Paris held on.
Milan trimmed the lead even to four (69-65) with Causeur being hot, however with Shorts reaching the 21-point mark, Paris was up by seven (76-67) at the end of the third period.
Herrera with a three put the lead back to 10 (79-69), Shorts had an impressive block over Mannion and after that, Milan couldn’t get back into shooting distance. Paris extended the lead again to 14 (87-73) with a three by Yakuba Ouattara and the game was over.
Photo credit: EuroLeague