Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul overcame a 16-point deficit to stay two wins clear at the top of the standings, prolonging EA7 Emporio Armani Milan’s pain with a 72-82 victory at Mediolanum Forum. Fenerbahce improved to 9-1, while Milan has lost six straight to fall to 3-7.
Fenerbahce fights back to down Milan, 72-82
Milan’s intense defense helped establish a 21-15 lead by the end of the first quarter, and the home team kept pushing with a 12-0 run to move ahead by double-digits, 35-19, before the break. But a 2-18 run bridging the second and third quarters totally changed the game, as Milan’s previous offensive potency disappeared and the visitors cruised home. Nigel Hayes-Davis paced Fenerbahce with 22 points, while Marko Guduric combined 11 points with 6 assists. Milan was led by Naz Mitrou-Long with 18 points.
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A three-pointer from Kevin Pangos and 5 points from Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot gave Milan an early lead, 11-5. Mitrou-Long and Tonye Jekiri traded two baskets apiece, as the first quarter ended 21-15. Threes from Mitrou-Long and Hall helped extend Milan’s lead to 35-19, but triples from Metecan Birsen, Nick Calathes and Scottie Wilbekin pulled it back to 37-32 at halftime.
Fener kept charging to go ahead with triples from Hayes-Davis and Guduric, 41-43, before two scores from Calathes and another Guduric triple made it 46-53. Another big Fenerbahce run, 2-12, took the advantage into double digits as Hayes-Davis continued to shine, and Milan couldn’t respond despite never giving up.