Milan had five key players either injured or unavailable in Round 17 but still registered a 76-67 home victory over Baskonia.
Milan's hustle paid off against Baskonia
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan excelled in all hustle stats against Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, finishing the game with 9 offensive rebounds, 11 steals and 4 blocked shots. It was Milan's third-best mark in steals this season. Its best was 14 steals in an 84-61 home victory over LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne. Milan was also 1 block shy of matching a season high: it previously had 5 blocks three times this season.
Baskonia only pulled down 5 offensive rebounds against Milan's 29 defensive boards. In other words, Milan grabbed 85.3% of all boards under its own rim. Things were very different on the other side of the court. Baskonia allowed 9 offensive boards and grabbed 27 defensive one - 75% of all total rebounds.
Baskonia had fewer steals (9) and more turnovers (16). Five Baskonia players had multiple turnovers in this game. Baskonia matched its highest number of turnovers since Dusko Ivanovic returned to coach the team.
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Milan's three-point defense was another key to this important victory. Baskonia only made 1 of 11 three-point shots (9.1% 3FG) in the first half, in which Milan took a double-digit lead, 46-31. The visitors did not do much better after the break, finishing the game with 3 of 17 three-point shooting (17.6% 3FG). Milan did not excel from behind the arc, but made 8 of 23 three-point shots (34.8% 3FG), which was significantly better than its opponent.
Finally, looking for advantages in the paint was decisive for Milan to win this game. Nicolo Melli, Johannes Voigtmann and Kyle Hines combined for 48 points on 14 of 22 two-point shooting (63.6% 2FG). On the other hand, Matt Costello, Chima Moneke, Maik Kotsar and Khalifa Diop combined for 28 points on 7-of-15 two-point shooting (46.7% 2FG).