The Milan guard nailed as many as 8 triples to bag a career-high 26 points on Thursday night
Armoni Brooks throws three-point party as ‘beautiful to see’ Milan beats Panathinaikos
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 15 of 38
Regular Season
EA7 Emporio Armani MilanEA7
9689
Panathinaikos AKTOR AthensPAO
Overview
w
l
w
l
w
l
l
w
w
w
The night belonged to him. A red-hot Armoni Brooks fired on all cylinders against Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens to lead EA7 Emporio Armani Milan to a 96-89 bounce-back victory on Thursday. Few could have predicted what was about to unfold after the Milan guard missed his first two three-point attempts.
A 0-14 run allowed Panathinaikos to grab a 21-26 lead after 10 minutes, with Kostas Sloukas netting 8 points off the bench. Kendrick Nunn even drilled a triple to open the second quarter, but Milan showed character and tied it up at 31-31 following a three from Marko Guduric.
Enter an unstoppable Brooks, who went 5 for 6 from deep en route to draining as many as 17 second-quarter points, as Milan outscored the guests 33-18 to take a 54-44 lead at halftime.
Shavon Shields kicked off the second half with five straight points and Zach LeDay added eight to his tally as Milan pulled away, 65-46. Panathinaikos pushed back, with Nunn inspiring his team to a 2-7 run, but Brooks stepped up again with his seventh triple of the night to take the air out of the Greens.
Ergin Ataman's side regrouped and gave no indication of surrendering, as Juancho Hernangomez brought the visitors within 83-69 by nailing one from deep.
Yet, Brooks would kill any hopes Panathinaikos of making a comeback by sinking his eighth three of the game on the other end.
“It’s just my teammates looking for me,” Brooks told EuroLeague TV after the game. “They’ve got confidence in me every time I shoot. The coaching staff got confidence in me and I’ve got confidence in myself.”
In fact, the majority of Brooks’s made triples came thanks to Milan’s smooth ball circulation, with the Italian side recording 20 assists on the night.
“We just played together,” Brooks added. “When we are moving the ball, we are a team to guard. We’ve got a lot of good players, a lot of offensive players. Especially when we get out in transition, we’re passing the ball, it’s popping around, everybody is touching the ball. It’s a good feeling and it’s beautiful to see.”
Brooks was aided by a mature Quinn Ellis, who ended the game with 8 points, 8 assists, 2 steals and a big block on Konstantinos Mitoglou when Panathinaikos was pushing for a comeback in the closing stages of the third quarter.
“I just play every game really hard,” Ellis said when interviewed by EuroLeague TV. “Trying to help my teammates as much as I can. And then in offense I like to move the ball. We’re playing amazingly on offense, everyone is touching the ball and it’s great to be a part of it.”
Milan head coach Peppe Poeta was excited after the final buzzer, beaming with joy during his post-game flash interview. After beating Olympiacos Piraeus back in mid-November, Milan improved to 2-0 against the Greek powerhouses with a statement victory over PAO.
“I’m super satisfied,” he noted. “The guys put in a tremendous effort. Honestly, it wasn't easy. We had a short rotation and at the end they were super tired.”
Panathinaikos tried to make the most of Milan's fatigue and left it all on the line, outscoring the hosts 16-30 in the closing quarter. But it wasn’t enough.
Having gone 8 for 14 from beyond the arc to record a career-high 26 points, Brooks had already done the damage, getting his team back in the winning column in style.
With Milan hosting Final Four contenders Real Madrid and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in the upcoming double-round week, the Italian side will look to show again that it means business. It remains to be seen whether either of the aforementioned visiting teams will be capable of stopping a scorching-hot Brooks.
