A dominant fourth quarter and big road support lift Zalgiris past Milan in a high stakes showdown
Francisco stars, Lo strikes late as Zalgiris silences Milan
Game Report
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 24 of 38
Regular Season
EA7 Emporio Armani MilanEA7
8286
Zalgiris KaunasZAL
Overview
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Zalgiris Kaunas improved to 14‑10 in the EuroLeague with an impressive 82‑86 road victory at EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, powered by a standout performance from Sylvain Francisco, who delivered 25 points and 6 assists on Thursday night. The win capped Zalgiris’s first pair of back‑to‑back victories since early November, following a dominant 77‑96 triumph at LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne earlier in the week.
Milan, now 11‑13, entered the game looking to rebound from a heavy 106‑77 loss to Real Madrid, and for long stretches appeared in control. The hosts led for most of the first 30 minutes and even surged ahead behind Shavon Shields, despite trailing 44‑45 at halftime after an early 17‑8 advantage slipped away. Shields, who recorded 27 points, 5 boards and 4 assists, helped Milan bounce back after the break as it conjured a 14-2 run, which turned a 48-54 deficit into a 62-56 lead in the third quarter.
However, it was Zalgiris who fired on all cylinders in crunch time as Maodo Lo, who finished on 17 points for Zalgiris, also provided backcourt spark and netted 2 of 3 successive three-pointers during a crucial stretch when the visitors wiped out a 74-70 deficit to engineer a 76-80 advantage.
Roared on by a sizeable contingent of away fans who made the trip across the Alps from Lyon to Milan, Zalgiris held on for a much-needed road win, which will boost the Lithuanian side’s chances of clinching a postseason berth. Francisco was quick to heap praise on an electrifying atmosphere created by both sets of supporters in the gym.
“They have some great defenders, but I got to know how to play against them and find my teammates,” the Frenchman said in his postgame comments. “I found the gaps and we ended up winning.
“That Milan crowd was amazing, so I said to the Zalgiris fans, ‘Come on, we need you guys’ and they helped us get the win. The momentum was on Milan’s side so the Zalgiris fans boosting our confidence was the most important thing.”
Head coach Tomas Masiulis also singled out the travelling support, adding that his team’s ironclad fourth-quarter defense was crucial in subduing Milan as the visiting team dominated the final period 15-24.
“We stayed together, we stayed calm and remained focused until the end,” he said. “We made a lot of mistakes early on, but our defense was really good in the fourth quarter. We are very happy because we felt at home here, thanks to our fans, they were of big support to us. We can only win playing together as a team and we’ll always have a chance when we fight for every ball.”
German sharpshooter Lo returned with a vengeance to hurt his former team, sticking a dagger in their hearts with those three-pointers down the stretch, which turned looming defeat into victory for Zalgiris. The visitors also got a huge contribution from Arnas Butkevicius (11 points) and Moses Wright (10).
“It’s a precious road win and it’s huge for us to put two together in this double week,” Lo underscored. “We fought through adversity today and we were able to come back from a deficit and that’s huge for us.”
The home team’s head coach Peppe Poeta could only lament on his team’s lack of cutting edge when the chips were down, rekindling instant memories of the 96-104 home loss to Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade last week.
“I am disappointed because, like against Red Star, we played three great quarters and punished whatever we had to,” he said. “Then again, in the last 5 minutes, we weren’t sharp enough to win.”
