


EA7 Emporio Armani Milan grabbed its seventh home win in a row on Friday night after defeating FC Barcelona 84-76 at Mediolanum Forum. What's more, it managed to come out with the victory despite being outrebounded 25-41, with the visitors grabbing 18 offensive rebounds, only 4 less than the total Milan secured under its own rim (22).
Barcelona turned that into 18 second-chance points, compared to just 2 for Milan. That advantage was not enough for the visitors to stay into the game in the second half, however, as Barca had a below-par shooting performance throughout the whole game, going for 24-of-66 from the field (36.6%).
“It was a difficult evening for us. We could not find the way to hit many shots,” said a downbeat Saras Jasikevicius, Barca's head coach, after the game. “I think we created some good shots, but they didn’t go in. I think the guys tried to fight in some situations, and 18 offensive rebounds shows that, but I think in some situations also we lacked the necessary tension to win here in Milan.”
On the other hand, the winners displayed far better efficiency with its shooting, hitting 17 two-pointers on 30 attempts (56.6% 2FG) and going 11-of-22 from behind the arc (50% 3FG), which proved decisive in the victory.