Three games, three road winners in domestic playoff finals action on Thursday night, as Fenerbahce, Milan and Paris all picked up huge wins away from home.
Hayes-Davis, Shields shine in big road wins for Fenerbahce, Milan
![Hayes-Davis, Shields shine in big road wins for Fenerbahce, Milan](https://media-cdn.incrowdsports.com/0cac2d57-cbe0-4fd8-be16-f9dd008f8e1f.jpg?crop=1080%3A608%3Anowe%3A49%3A216)
Italy: Shields shines as Milan pulls out OT road win
In a rollercoaster game in which both team took turns taking control, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan downed Virtus Segafredo Bologna 75-86 after overtime to grab a 1-0 lead in the Italian League finals on Thursday night. Shavon Shields and Devon Hall combined for 15 of Milan's 18 points in overtime, paving the way for a big win and getting Milan a step closer to a title defense.
Shields finished with 25 points on 6-for-7 three-point shooting, Shabazz Napier netted 21 and Devon Hall had 18 points. Those three players accounted for all 13 of Milan's triples, as the team shot 13-for-27 from long range on the night. For the hosts, Tornike Shengelia scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half, while Marco Belinelli and Isaia Cordnier scored 14 apiece in a loss.
Virtus jumped ahead behind Shengelia, and a triple from Cordinier opened 18-9 after 7 minutes of play, before a triple apiece from Awudu Abass and Shengelia made it 25-14 early in the second quarter. But Milan stepped up defensively, allowing just 8 more points the rest of the quarter, and cut the deficit to 6 points, before Virtus took 33-25 halftime lead. After the break, however, Milan closed the gap some more, before Napier and Hall sparked a 0-9 run. Shields, Nikola Mirotic and Hall made sure Milan took 48-54 lead into the final quarter, but Iffe Lundberg led Virtus's charge in the fourth. The hosts took a 68-65 lead into the final minute, but a triple from Napier with 33 seconds left in regulation took the game into overtime. In the extra session a three-pointer from Shields opened 68-73, then two more threes from Shields made it 70-79 and Milan never looked back, securing a win in the series opener.
Turkey: Hayes-Davis, Fenerbahce open finals series in style
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul had a dream start to the Turkish League finals with a resounding 74-85 road win over Anadolu Efes Istanbul in their best-of-five series on Thursday night. Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday, again at Sinan Erdem Arena.
Both teams made runs early in the game, with Nigel Hayes Davis starting a Fenerbahce's 0-10 run late in the first quarter to make it 14-22, only for Efes to respond with an 11-2 spurt and re-take the lead, 25-24. But the visitors managed to strike right back, scoring the next 9 points, then Hayes-Davis's three-point play, a driving dunk by Ercan Omani, sparked another Fenerbahce push which saw the team take 36-51 margin into the break after a three-pointer from Tarik Biberovic.
Hayes-Davis scored the first 5 point of the third quarter to open a 20-point margin, and advantage was extended to 45-68 late in the third quarter and 51-75 early in the fourth. With the final outcome sealed and out of hands, Efes halved the deficit before game's end. Hayes-Davis scored 18 of his 28 points in the first half, and finished shooting 4-for-6 behind the arc. Dyshawn Pierre scored 16, Biberovic had 10 point, while Nick Calathes collected 8 points, 11 assists and 5 rebounds for the winners. For Efes, Osmani scored 18, Shane Larkin had 16 points plus 8 assists, and Dan Oturu also scored 16 in defeat.
France: Paris sinks Monaco on the road
BKT EuroCup champion Paris Basketball beat AS Monaco 70-77 in Game 2 of their best-of-five French League finals series, tying it at 1-1 as the series now moves to Paris. Nadir Hifi netted 24 points on 5-for-7 three-point shooting, EuroCup MVP TJ Shorts had 21 points and 6 rebounds. Justin Simon scored 14 points while Enzo Shahrvin pulled down 10 rebounds in a victory. Elie Okobo paced Monaco with 15 points, Alpha Diallo scored 14, Petr Cornelie had 11 points and 6 rebounds while Turkish Airlines EuroLeague MVP Mike James scored 10 in defeat.
Paris opened the game with a 1-12 run behind Tyson Ward and Hifi, before 6 straight points from Simon made it 4-18. The hosts did not score their first field goal until 2:28 left in the first quarter, and were held to that just 1 field goal as Paris held 11-25 lead after 10 minutes. But Monaco picked up its offense in the second quarter with Cornelie and Donta Hall giving it a spark, and Jordan Loyd and Diallo each hitting a triple during an 11-0 run that tied it at 31-31.
TJ Shorts and Hifi made sure Paris took a 36-38 lead into halftime, but Matthew Strazel opened the third with a triple that gave Monaco its first lead. However, Paris had a quick response, a 1-13 run with Hifi and Simon in main roles. Monaco cut this double-digit deficit to 51-55 at the end of the third quarter, and tied it at 62-62 in the fourth. But Paris had another answer, this time a 0-6 run behind Shorts, before sealing the game on a long jumper by Hifi in the final minute, making it 66-75 and securing a big win.