Βy Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
On a game which might end up being more than crucial in the playoffs race, Zalgiris Kaunas got the 86-82 win over Milan, improving to a 14-10 record, while the Italians dropped to 11-13.
Sylvain Franscisco once more was the star of the show with 25 points. Still, in the end, it was Zalgiris‘ defense that kept Milan to 15 points in the last quarter that decided the outcome.
Maodo Lo, with 17 points, was also very important for the win, making big plays down the stretch.
On the other side, Shavon Shields had 27 points, which were not enough, with Marko Guduric and Josh Nedo adding 12 points each.
Milan got a 22-19 first-quarter lead, and Francisco had a buzzer-beating three at the end of the first half to put Zalgiris up by one (45-44).
Still, in the third quarter, the Italians took things back into their hands with Shields making 13 of his points to push them back up by five (67-62) entering the last 10 minutes of action.
Zalgiris didn’t back down, and Maodo Lo tied the score to 76 with less than five minutes left. Dustin Sleva, with one made free throw out of two, and Francisco with a three-pointer, gave Zalgiris an 80-76 lead, which proved to be enough.
In the next four and a half minutes, Milan scored just two points, as Zalgiris built a six-point cushion (84-78) and closed the game the right way, as the hosts started scoring again with 18 seconds left on the clock.