The big man more than compensated for the loss of an injured colleague
Devin Booker steps up to inspire Milan over Baskonia with season scoring high
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 26 of 38
Regular Season
EA7 Emporio Armani MilanEA7
10989
Kosner Baskonia Vitoria-GasteizKBA
Overview
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EA7 Emporio Armani Milan suffered yet another injury blow in the buildup to Tuesday’s must-win home meeting with Kosner Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz.
News broke on the afternoon of the game that center Josh Nebo had suffered a hamstring injury and was ruled out of action, adding to an already long tale of physical woe for the Italian team.
Nebo joined Leandro Bolmaro and Nate Sestina on an injury list, which has featured pretty much every player over the last four months, with only Armoni Brooks and Pippo Ricci able to feature in every game over the course of the campaign.
The loss of Nebo – Milan’s leading rebounder and most prolific scorer from inside the arc – placed an extra responsibility on the shoulders of Devin Booker, whose first season with the Little Red Shoes has in truth been a little underwhelming considering the excellence he displayed for FC Bayern Munich in the previous campaign.
Perhaps sensing the need to step up and lead from the frontcourt, Booker answered the call to deliver his best all-around performance of the season, playing a fundamental role in a no-doubt-about-it 109-89 home victory which keeps Milan in the thick of the race for the playoffs.
Booker netted a season-high 21 points by knocking down 7 of his 10 two-point attempts, adding a pair of three-pointers without a miss and his only free throw. He also contributed a game-high 5 rebounds, along with 2 assists and a blocked shot for a PIR of 28 – another high mark for the campaign.
Even better, those figures came on a milestone evening. The eight-season EuroLeague veteran was making his 200th appearance in the competition, and marked it by passing the career total of 2,000 points. On a collective level, his efficient performance helped Milan muster its highest points tally of the season, falling only two points short of an all-time club record.
So there were plenty of reasons for the hosts to celebrate, but coach Peppe Poeta was most satisfied with his team’s defensive transformation after the interval. The first half was a remarkably free-scoring, back-and-forth affair, featuring 16 lead changes and sky-high shooting percentages at both ends before Milan went into the locker room with a 57-56 advantage.
Poeta came out of the break demanding that his players show more defensive aggression and physicality, and they did everything he asked. Baskonia’s 56 first-half points were reduced to just 33 in the final two quarters, and Poeta was able to spend the final quarter rotating out his key players in preparation for Friday’s double-round week trip to LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne.
“We changed the attitude, the physicality, we changed everything,” enthused the Milan coach as he reflected on his team’s second-half display. “We turned it around. This is the key to our season: if we can be consistent defensively like this, we are a team.
“We played a great third and fourth quarter, with intensity and physicality. The second half was very, very good and we have to start to be more consistent. It’s all about that. It’s the second win in a row in EuroLeague, so I’m very happy.”
Another strong performer in the victory was Shavon Shields – one of six Milan players to score in double digits as he recorded 17 points. And he agreed with his coach’s assessment, shrugging off the 109 points netted and instead focusing on third and fourth quarter defense.
“Giving up 30 points in the second half is huge,” Shields said. “It proves to ourselves that we can do it. In order to go anywhere this season in EuroLeague, we’ve got to play defense and finish games like we did today.
“[This season] offense hasn’t been the issue – it’s been defense and finishing the game. We move the ball well, and we’ve got a lot of guys who can get hot. So we need to focus on defense and make a big step that way.”
