The 33-year-old forward stood out at both ends of the court as the Italian team forced its way into the postseason picture
Nicolo Melli rolled back the years to lift Milan in crunch time
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Regular Season
Round 31 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Big names shine in big games and Nicolo Melli delivered when it mattered the most for EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, providing the kind of mettle and leadership required to engineer a lifeline 77-76 home win over Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul on Friday.
The outcome, coupled with Milan’s impressive 80-98 victory at AS Monaco earlier this week, catapulted the Italian side into what is becoming an almighty scrap for a play-in berth with three regular season rounds remaining.
Milan, currently in 10th place which guarantees postseason competition, is locked on a 14-17 record with Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, Valencia Basket and Anadolu Efes Istanbul, while Bayern Munich and Zalgiris Kaunas are on 13-18 and breathing down the quartet’s necks.
Melli delivered a captain's display
Melli served up a vintage performance on the offensive end in the first half to help Milan get into the driver’s seat and then supplied the defensive steel needed to fend off a spirited Fenerbahce fightback, as the visitors briefly turned the game on its head in the closing stages.
“We won the game and that’s the most important thing,” Melli said in his post-game comments. "Fenerbahce is a very good team so it wasn’t an easy task, but we did a pretty good job and kept alive our play-in chances.
“Small details and a couple of big baskets from my teammates made the difference in the end — we were better than them down the stretch,” added the versatile forward, who finished on 17 points and 3 rebounds.
With Fenerbahce nosing ahead 70-73 in the home stretch, Nikola Mirotic sank an open three and then a pair of free throws after Shavon Shields netted a long two off the dribble. Tarik Biberovic forced late drama with an audacious baseline triple for the visitors, who ran out of time, although they did force a turnover on Milan’s final possession before throwing the ball away straight back into the home team’s hands.
Milan’s head coach Ettore Messina was visibly relieved after the titanic tussle and a dramatic finale, heaping praise on his players for showing grit in the face of adversity.
“We were up the whole game and after they went ahead, we made a couple of big plays,” Messina reflected. “We found a way to win, our players showed great heart and it’s the first time this season we’ve won twice in a double-round week.
"One game at a time from here, knowing that we have to continue to play together after overcoming a tough moment in the fourth quarter,” he stressed.
A potentially damaging defeat for Fenerbahce
While the outcome lifted Milan, it dented Fenerbahce’s hopes of finishing in the top four, with the situation at the top of the standings also providing for a thrilling climax.
Defending champion Real Madrid has clinched top spot with games to spare, but a dogfight beckons for the runner-up spot onwards as two wins separate the next six teams in line, with automatic playoff berths as well as home-court advantage at stake.
Fenerbahce’s head coach Saras Jasikevicius acknowledged his team had left itself too much to do, although the visitors missed a chance to complete what would have amounted to a spectacular comeback.
“We dug ourselves into too big a hole,” said the 48-year-old Lithuanian tactician. “The reaction was fantastic and in the end the game was decided by tiny details, as is usually the case when it’s a close call.”