Crvena Zvezda had no answer for the German guard, nor the Italian club, which nearly set a club record for three-pointers made.
Maodo Lo, Milan shot the lights out in 'big-time' win
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3 Минутное чтение
Regular Season
Round 10 of 34
Group Regular Season
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EA7 Emporio Armani Milan used a strong finish to the game and an incredible team shooting performance to beat Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 71-93 on Friday night at Stark Arena.
The Italian visitors came to the Serbian capital without a win on the road this season, but they got their first win away from home in impressive fashion. Importantly, Milan had a clear plan of wanting to keep the tempo of the game slow, in part to keep down the hosts' energy and the noise inside the arena.
Milan had control, but had to fight again
That approached helped Milan lead for the majority of the first half, but then the visitors found themselves 47-41 down early in the third.
That's when Milan stepped up defensively, while simultaneously catching fire on offense.
"[At the] beginning of the third quarter, when we were down 6, we answered with four, five [defensive] stops in a row", commented Milan head coach Ettore Messina afterward. "But we also moved the ball well offensively. You need your players to make big plays and make shots to win."
And make shots they did.
Milan finished the game 17-for-27 (63.0%) from long range, just one triple shy of a club record. Even more remarkably, Milan was 11-for-13 on three-pointers in the second half. At one point, Milan made 10 of its 11 three-point attempts after the halftime break.
"It is a big-time win for us in an incredible atmosphere", said the hero of the game, Maodo Lo.
A memorable night for Maodo Lo
No player shot it better than Lo on Friday night, as he played the best game of his EuroLeague career. Lo knocked down 6-of-7 triples, tying his career-best en route to scoring a career-high 32 points.
"I am very happy for Maodo Lo, for his game", Milan team captain Nicolo Melli said of his teammate. "He just got here, he is a new point guard, you know… it is important for us, but mostly for him to have such performances because he is a great player."
Lo was Milan's leading force in the first half, scoring 15 points as Milan trailed 39-38 at halftime. He scored the rest of his points in the second half, but was also helped by Shavon Shields, who netted 16 of his 19 points in the final two quarters.
Shields was 4-of-5 from three-point land, including 3-for-3 in the final 6 minutes of the night. Just as Zvezda closed within 65-69, Shields hit his second triple, then had two more during a 4-24 spurt that blew the game wide open.
Coach Messina credits his performance to the players' hard work and their growing comfort together.
"We had a good couple of weeks of work and I am very happy for my players, because you can see they are enjoying the challenge," noted Messina. "They are playing together with more enthusiasm and confidence. They are showing their abilities and their talent."
Milan's second win in a row improved it to 4-6, and next up is a home game against Zalgiris Kaunas before going on a three-game road trip, making this road victory even more significant.