By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Daniel Hackett scored a career-high 28 points on 6/9 3-pointers as CSKA Moscow defeated Olimpia Milano 78 – 75 at home to improve its EuroLeague regular-season record to 10 – 6.
Milano dropped to 8-8.
Hackett also dropped a couple of crucial baskets in the fourth quarter to lead his team to the win. He drained the 3-pointer that capped a key 12-0 run for CSKA and gave his team a nine-point lead, 74 – 65 and then, when Milano began approaching, he made a floater for the 76 – 70 with 1:41 remaining. CSKA had returned from down nine, 32 – 41 early in the second half thanks to Hackett and James (17 points, 11 assists against his former team).
“First of all, it was a good team win. We struggled in the first half to read their matchup zone and we were thinking too much. Second half, it was much better,” Hackett said to Euroleague TV after setting his new scoring record against Ettore Messina, his former Italian national team coach and two-time (2006, 2008) EuroLeague champion with CSKA. “I want to thank my teammates and my coaching staff for sticking with me. They believe in me, they train me hard and allow me to perform like this.”
Arturas Gudaitis replied with a basket for the 76 – 72 but the next plays weren’t exactly ideal for the visiting squad. The “Red Shoes” lost the ball with 15 seconds left to play and then Hackett called game on the other end by making it 78 – 72.
Gudaitis and Sergio Rodriguez, a EuroLeague champion with CSKA in 2019, scored 13 apiece for the Milano while Kaleb Tarczezwski had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Italian team had played some strong defense in the second quarter to outplay its opponents 13 – 26 and go to the locker room up 32 – 39 but CSKA’s offense saw significant and eventually game-winning improvement after the break.
Metamorphosis
CSKA showed two completely different pictures in the two halves and coach Dimitris Itoudis commented his players for improving their game after the break.
“I’ve got to congratulate my team on the transformation we had and a different mental approach and mindset we had in the third and fourth quarters,” Itoudis said. “Congratulations to the fans who created a great atmosphere and we have to thank them a lot. We kept believing that what we did in the second quarter was a part of one of the worst quarters we had in the EuroLeague. We have to give credit to Milan for the way they defended, but with all due respect, we were too hesitant. Players who can shoot and create were too hesitant. We changed that in the third quarter, we were immediately aggressive on our drives. Whether Milan was switching or zoning, we tried to attack that very aggressively and that was very important.”
Photo: EuroLeague Basketball