By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
After three straight wins, Milan is back to winning ways unexpectedly.
Playing in Kaunas against Zalgiris, the Italians got the impressive 89-78 win.
Zach LeDay, Josh Nebo, and Lorenzo Brown are still out, but Quinn Ellis (15 p.) and Giampaolo Ricci (15 p.) added big shots down the stretch and an extra push, registering both a career night.
Meanwhile, Shavon Shields and Devin Booker also scored 15 points each, while Marko Guduric contributed 14, and the shot that killed Zalgiris‘ last hopes.
Arnas Butkevicius, with 20 first-half points, was the top scorer of Zalgiris in his best EuroLeague game yet, followed by Moses Wright (15 p.) and Nigel Williams-Goss (13 p.).
Thanks to 13 unanswered points between the end of the first period and the start of the second, Zalgiris built a 15-point lead (28-13), with Arnas Butkevicius scoring half of them, 14 in seven minutes of action.
Milan reacted admirably, totally turning the tables. With Shavon Shields scoring 13 points in 10 minutes and Giampaolo Ricci making the go-ahead three, the Italians got the 39-38 lead.
Still with Moses Wright scoring four straight points, Zalgiris closed the first half up by three (42-39). Milan tied the game again at 44 to start the second half, and the dogfight continued.
The Italians entered the last period leading by two (63-61) and built a six-point cushion (70-64) after a three by Ellis. Milan pushed the lead to nine (75-66) and then to 12 (85-73), dominating crunch time.
The hosts dropped to 3-2 after this result, while Milan improved to 2-3.