The offensive dynamo buckled down on the other end on Thursday night
Baskonia’s defense injected energy into offense to beat Milan
Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz’s offense may have been hailed as one of the finest in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague this season, but on Thursday night it was its defense that was the key to the 88-73 victory over EA7 Emporio Armani Milan. Having boasted the fourth-best offense in the competition with 84.0 points scored per game coming into the duel against the Italian side, Baskonia averaged 95.8 points in its last five duels. Yet, this time Coach Dusko Ivanovic's men aimed for a solid start to the game on defense too and the players delivered on the floor. The first quarter at Buesa Arena was balanced, with the hosts keeping Milan to 18 points.
“Defense [was the key to the win],” Chima Moneke said after the game. “We started off well, which is something we haven’t done this whole season. I’m proud of the starters for doing that.”
Baskonia took a one-point lead into the second quarter, which is when Moneke stepped up on both ends. The 28-year-old forward provided his team with a boost in energy on defense and netted 8 second-quarter points, with his team outscoring Milan 29-16.
“When I came into the game, I made the difference and I’m proud of myself today,” Moneke added.
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Baskonia led 48-34 at halftime, but a quick 0-8 Milan run allowed the visitors to trim the deficit to single digits. This is when Baskonia tightened up its defense and transmitted this energy through Markus Howard and Moneke to the offense to regain control of the game.
“Tonight, my players did a really good job,” Ivanovic noted after the game. “On offense, we had patience, moved the ball and had many open shots. But I think that our aggressiveness on defense was very good too.”
Howard fired on all cylinders and finished the duel with a game-high 26 points. As for Moneke, he went 2-for-4 from inside the arc, 3-for-4 from deep and 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. He also registered 6 blocks, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block for a PIR of 27.
“I think the biggest thing was having energy and being aggressive,” Howard said after the game. “On the defensive end, we pressured on the ball and made them feel us. I think that helped us on the offensive end as well.”
With Thursday’s victory, Baskonia improved to a 16-13 record and extended its home winning streak to four games. Looking to establish itself in the playoff spots, the Basque side has a couple of tough away duels coming next, as they’ll face Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade before traveling to Lithuania to take on Zalgiris Kaunas in the upcoming double-round week.