The sharpshooting guard hit 7 three-pointers and scored a career-high 31 points
Armoni Brooks show, Milan’s refusal to lose give club a present for 90th anniversary
Rapport de match
3 Minute de lecture
Regular Season
Round 21 of 38
Regular Season
EA7 Emporio Armani MilanEA7
8774
Anadolu Efes IstanbulEFS
Overview
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All is right in the world for EA7 Emporio Armani Milan right now, as the team came up with a thrilling comeback victory to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the club with Armoni Brooks shining bright.
Brooks drained 7 three-pointers in scoring a career-high 31 points, which allowed Milan to rally from 14 points down to collect an 87-74 victory over Anadolu Efes Istanbul and complete a sweep of the double-round week.
After giving up 49 points in the first half, Milan allowed just 8 points in the third quarter. Brooks put the game to bed with four three-pointers in a span of 2:43 minutes in the fourth quarter, sparking the Allianz Cloud crowd to serenade him with MVP chants.
“It’s beautiful to hear that. I’ve never gotten that in my life. So it’s a great feeling. I’m happy the team won more than anything,” said Brooks, who finished with 7-of-12 three-pointers as well as 8 rebounds for a career-high index rating of 32.
“We were a little lackadaisical in the first half. We tried to clean up the defense and offensive rebounding in the second half. We stuck together and fought through a little bit of adversity. It feels good to come back and get this win.”
Milan’s two wins this week improves its record to 11-10, thanks to Zach LeDay adding 15 points, Marko Guduric tallying 13 points and Leandro Bolmaro chipping in 12 points and 4 assists in his first game since Round 15.
“The second half is the way we have to play. Great energy, great togetherness. And when you have a guy like Armoni, it’s much easier to play,” said Guduric.
“Super happy, super proud of this team. After a slow start, down 11 after the first quarter, we bounced back with defense, with togetherness – an unbelievable will to win. Or refusal to lose, which is more important,” said Milan head coach Peppe Poeta.
“I am also super happy we kind of gave a gift for the 90th anniversary of Olimpia and its great history for the ownership and our fans. It’s a little gift for them. They support us all the time. And today they were a factor in the game.”
Efes had a great start to lead 2-13, and a three-pointer to start the second quarter pushed the cushion to 14 points at 16-30. The hosts were able to close within five points midway through the quarter but trailed 38-49 at the break.
Milan came up with the perfect start to the second half with the first 12 points to claim the lead 50-49. That was the first of seven lead changes in the quarter, and Milan was up 62-57 after 30 minutes.
Efes scored the first points in the final frame, but Brooks got red-hot with the three-point barrage in a 17-2 run to make it 79-61. Efes did manage to pull within seven points but could not finish the comeback.
Efes dropped its fifth straight game for a 6-15 record despite recent addition Saben Lee leading the way with 19 points and Nick Weiler-Babb amassing 12 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists.
“I think our first half was very complete – nothing special but very solid. The second half, we disappeared,” said Efes head coach Pablo Laso.
“We talked in the locker room that in the situation we are in – a lot of injuries, players in and out. We need to be stable. And from the first play of the second half we were not stable. We looked behind them all the time. They played with a lot of energy and they came back and had a great victory with Armoni Brooks having a great game.”
