A big third-quarter run made all the difference
Milan easies past ALBA, 100-68
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan continued with its winning ways, picking up its third straight win, a no-doubt-about-it decision against last-place ALBA Berlin on Tuesday. Milan improved to 12-9, while ALBA dropped to 3-18 record with its eighth straight loss.
Milan pulled away with a 21-3 run to end the third quarter, establishing a 25-point lead and never looking back. Nikola Mirotic led five Milan scorers in double digits with 21 points. Zach LeDay posted 18 points and 6 rebounds, Shavon Shields scored 16, Armoni Brooks netted 12 while Leandro Bolmaro had 11 points and 8 assists. For ALBA, Yanni Wetzell collected 13 points and 7 rebounds and David McCormack had 11 points.
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McCormack scored ALBA’s first two baskets and Matt Thomas had a corner triple to help open a 6-9 lead. But a triple from Niccolo Mannion put the hosts in front, only for Thomas to hit another three and tie it at 13-13. Freddie Gillespie had a three-point play and LeDay made a three-pointer for the hosts, but ALBA stayed close with a pair of baskets from Ziga Samar, making it 23-19 after 10 minutes.
Will McDowell-White had a layup and a triple to get within 29-26, but layups from Brooks and Giampaolo Ricci and a three from Mirotic opened a 36-28 advantage. Gabriele Procida made an alley-oop dunk and a coast-to-coast layup, but Mirotic’s three-point play helped extend it to 41-32. However, Wetzell and Tim Schneider scored from close range and Procida had a steal and a runaway dunk to get within 47-43 at halftime.
Shields scored a pair of buckets before Mirotic nailed a tough corner jumper and Stefano Tonut made a layup for a 57-45 lead. McCormack converted a three-point play, but Shields strung together 8 points, including back-to-back triples, before a three-pointer from LeDay set a 68-50 margin. Thomas made a layup that snapped an 11-2 run, but a triple apiece from LeDay and Brooks helped the hosts to a 78-53 margin going into the fourth quarter.
Procida, Samar and Wetzel opened the fourth quarter with a 0-6 run, but Mirotic hit 3 three-pointers, including two from way downtown that made it to 90-63 as Milan cruised to a victory.