AX Armani Exchange Milan continued its resurgence by crushing Panathinaikos OPAP Athens 75-54 on Tuesday. The first half was closely contested with Panathinaikos leading for long stretches of play, but Milan surged clear with a 16-0 run bridging the second and third quarters and never looked back from that moment.
Milan blasts Panathinaikos to keep rolling, 75-54
Devon Hall led the scoring with 19 points, while Kyle Hines added 14 points and Sergio Rodriguez controlled the rhythm with 6 points and 9 assists. Daryl Macon was the only visiting player with more than 7 points, scoring 14. Milan, which had previously lost four consecutive games, has now won two straight and improves to 10-5. Panathinaikos remains winless on the road at 4-11.
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Macon scored a pair of early jumpers and a coast to coast layup for Panathinaikos, but Milan had 5 points from Troy Daniels to stay in touch. Okaro White hit from deep for the visitors as the fast scoring start continued, and Hines and Malcolm Delaney scored inside before Macon struck a corner three to make it 13-13 midway through the first. Both defenses then tightened up but Leonidas Kaselakis and Eleftherios Bochiridis hit from deep, making it 15-19 after ten minutes. Hall and Nicolo Melli tied it up early in the second quarter, and a triple from Rodriguez made it 24-21. Ioannis Papapetrou and Jeremy Evans got Panathinaikos back to 29-29, before free throws sent Milan ahead, 33-29, at half-time.
Hines scored the first 5 points of the second half with a dunk and a three-point play. Two scores from Delaney and a triple from Hall made it 45-29, as Panathinaikos failed to score for the first five minutes of the third quarter before Macon hit free throws. Kendrick Perry and Evans then made triples as the visitors bounced back with a 0-8 run, 45-37. Rodriguez responded with a triple and Hines added 5 more points for a Milan 8-0 run, and Rodriguez delivered magical assists for Melli and Hall to make it 57-42 through three quarters. Perry opened the fourth quarter scoring, Papapetrou struck from deep and White scored inside as Panathinaikos came back to 59-49. But Hall sank 7 straight points to quash the comeback, 66-49 midway through the fourth. Papagiannis Georgios scored inside but Hall hit another threeball, and Shavon Shields added another for a 72-54 lead to ensure the game was over.