Milan takes charge late to beat Zalgiris 64
AX Armani Milan overpowered Zalgiris Kaunas down the stretch to claim an 80-70 victory on Thursday night at Mediolanum Forum.
Zalgiris led 57-58 with 6 and a half minutes remaining, but back-to-back three-pointers by Dairis Bertans and Mindaugas Kuzminskas gave Milan the lead for good and Mike James scored 9 points and dished 2 assists in the final 5 minutes to lead Milan to victory.
The result took Milan’s record to 9-11, which could have it back inside the playoff zone depending on Friday night’s outcomes. Zalgiris slipped to 8-12 with the loss.
Nate Wolters produced 17 points and 5 assists for Zalgiris, Paulius Jankunas scored 14, Brandon Davies 13 and Marius Grigonis 10.
James finished with 20 points, 9 assists and 4 steals to pace the winners. Bertans and Vladimir Micov added 17 points apiece and Kuzminskas made 4 of 5 threes for 14 points in 16 minutes off the bench.
Bertans struck from downtown on each of Milan’s first two possessions, but Davies kept the visitors close. Wolters was whistled for an unsportsmanlike foul on Bertans on a fast break and the ensuing free throws were followed by a Micov triple. James’s first shot was a successful three-pointer that capped a 10-0 run and gave Milan an 18-8 advantage. Jankunas snapped the Zalgiris dry spell with a jumper. James and Edgaras Ulanovas traded triples to end the first quarter at 21-13.
Davies and Wolters chipped away at the Zalgiris deficit and Arturas Milaknis struck from behind the arc to make it 26-22, after which the hosts called timeout. Kuzminskas nailed a triple at the other end, but soon Davies stepped up with a basket on one end before drawing Arturas Gudaitis’s third foul at the other. The margin remained in the 4-6 range for the rest of the half, with Wolters bringing the Lithuanian champs within 34-30 at the break.
Bertans opened the second half like he did the first – with a three-pointer, however, Zalgiris stayed close and Davies narrowed the gap to 41-37. Jankunas sank a jumper and netted a pair of free throws to bring the visitors within 46-45. Micov scored twice to keep the hosts in front, but another Jankunas jumper made it 52-50 at the end of the quarter.
Grigonis and Wolters connected on back-to-back threes early in the fourth quarter to give Zalgiris its first lead, 54-56. The lead changed hands with each of the game’s next three scores before back-to-back threes by Bertans and Kuzminskas gave Milan a little breathing room at 63-58 and soon James heated up to extend the margin to 6. Kuzminskas dunked and then sank a triple to put Milan ahead by 9 with 2 minutes remaining. Micov banked in a shot that made it 76-67 with a minute to go and Zalgiris never threatened again.
Facebook comments