2019-20Regular SeasonRound 9
November 19, 2019 CET: 20:45
Local time: 20:45 MEDIOLANUM FORUM

Rodriguez, Scola lift Milan past Maccabi

In a battle of teams tied for first place, AX Armani Exchange Milan outlasted Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv 92-88 on Tuesday night at Mediolanum Forum. The loss snapped the Israeli champs' six-game winning streak. Milan led for long spells, but Maccabi never quit and turned a 10-point deficit into a 1-point lead in the third before Milan reasserted its dominance. It took a Herculean effort from Milan to see off the challenge of the visitors as they continually cut into the home side’s lead without being able to edge in front after their third-quarter resurgence. Luis Scola led the way with 20 points, Sergio Rodriguez scored 18 with 11 assists, Vladimir Micov added 13 points, Nemanja Nedovic 11 and Kaleb Tarczewski 10. Scottie Welbekin scored 25 with 6 three-pointers for Maccabi while Tyler Dorsey scored 14 and Tarik Black had 13.

Maccabi took the lead first, but former Maccabi player Michael Roll responded with a three for the hosts. Milan eventually took some control with a 14-11 lead. Rodriguez made that 16-11 midway through the quarter, but the teams continued to trade blows. Othello Hunter scored late in the quarter to leave it 21-21 after 10 minutes. Dorsey landed a three to start the second, the visitors' first triple of the night. Maccabi built its biggest lead through Nate Wolters at 23-28 soon after. Tarczewski responded and Scola put Milan ahead again as the lead continued to change hands. A couple of Rodriguez free throws gave Milan a 35-30 advantage. There was a flurry of points at the end of the half before a buzzer-beater by Wolters left the score 47-42 at halftime. Milan got off to a brighter start in the third with Micov scoring a couple of threes to make it 52-45. The hosts extended that lead to 54-45, their biggest of the night. Maccabi stayed in touch and Black had a nice spin and slam to make it 58-53. The visitors reduced the margin again with a couple of free throws and Quincy Acy finished above the rim to make it 61-60. Maccabi took the lead late in the third thanks to a goaltending call. Nedovic gave the home side the lead with 2 threes late for a 71-64 edge after 30 minutes. Nedovic scored to start the fourth, but Maccabi would not lie down and Dorsey hit another three to get within 76-72. Scola struck again to give Milan a 79-72 cushion. Wilbekin would not stop and he hit his 5th three to make it 81-77 late in the game. Rodriguez answered with a three and Milan took an 87-77 lead as Maccabi’s challenge eventually started to fade for good.

Pivotal performer

Sergio Rodriguez’s play in the second half in particular - and throughout, for that matter, was elite. He scored 18 points and sent out 11 assists in a display that Maccabi had no answer for.

Did you notice?

Vladimir Micov scored his 1,999th point in the EuroLeague on Tuesday night. He ended the night with 13 and will have to wait until his next game to score his 2,000th. It is his ninth season in the EuroLeague and he has played for five different teams during his career in the competition but there has always been one constant: he gets to the basket.

Game-changing moment

Maccabi turned around a 10-point lead in the third quarter and nerves were starting to kick in around the arena. Nemanja Nedovic eased those nerves with 2 threes late in the quarter as he killed off the resurgent Maccabi's hopes. He scored 9 points in that quarter and turned the game back in Milan’s favor in that crucial stretch.

Next game

Maccabi is on the road again, for the third game in a row, when it takes on Barcelona on Friday night. Milan doesn’t have much rest as it welcomes Anadolu Efes Istanbul on Thursday.

Luis Scola - AX Armani Exchange Milan - EB19
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Euroleague.net
Referees: JAVOR, DAMIR; PERUGA, CARLOS; ZAMOJSKI, JAKUB
Attendance: 10482 (Tentative)
By Quarter1234
AX Armani Exchange Milan21262421
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv21212224
End of Quarter1234
AX Armani Exchange Milan21477192
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv21426488
AX Armani Exchange Milan
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 MACK, SHELVIN 19:45 5 1/3 0/1 3/4   1 1 2   1     1 4 6
5 MICOV, VLADIMIR 26:37 13 4/6 1/3 2/2   4 4 1 1     1 1 1 14
6 BILIGHA, PAUL 13:28 4 1/4   2/2 1 1 2 1     1 1 4 1 1
10 ROLL, MICHAEL 25:15 5 1/3 1/3   1 1 2     1     2 2 2
13 RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO 25:32 18 4/6 2/5 4/4   1 1 11 1 3     1 4 26
15 TARCZEWSKI, KALEB 15:17 10 4/4   2/3   2 2   1 1     3 3 11
16 NEDOVIC, NEMANJA 14:28 11 1/3 3/5         1   2     4 3 5
20 CINCIARINI, ANDREA 0:13                              
23 BURNS, CHRISTIAN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
30 WHITE, AARON 10:46           1 1 1   1       1 2
32 BROOKS, JEFF 25:07 6 1/2 1/3 1/2 1 6 7   1 1 1   2 1 9
40 SCOLA, LUIS 23:32 20 3/6 3/4 5/5 2 5 7 3 1 1   2 3 4 25
Team           2 1 3               3
Totals 200:00 92 20/37 11/24 19/22 7 23 30 20 5 11 2 4 21 24 104
        54.1% 45.8% 86.4%
Head coach: MESSINA, ETTORE
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 BRYANT, ELIJAH 9:20 4 2/3             1     1 4   -1
1 WILBEKIN, SCOTTIE 27:14 28 2/5 7/11 3/3   1 1 5 2 4     2 6 29
2 ACY, QUINCY 27:56 4 2/3 0/2   2 2 4 1     2   3 2 7
5 HUNTER, OTHELLO 22:26 6 3/4 0/1     4 4     1     4 2 5
6 COHEN, SANDY DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
8 AVDIJA, DENI 16:03 2 1/1 0/2     2 2       1   2   1
11 DORSEY, TYLER 20:13 11 0/3 3/7 2/2 1 3 4   1       1 1 9
12 DIBARTOLOMEO, JOHN 8:50 6 2/2 0/1 2/2   1 1 2   1     4 4 7
14 WOLTERS, NATE 17:10 8 4/7   0/2 1   1 1   2       1 4
15 COHEN, JAKE 11:51 2 1/2 0/2     1 1 1 1 1     1    
28 BLACK, TARIK 31:31 13 3/6   7/7 4 5 9 2 1 3 1 1 2 5 22
50 ZOOSMAN, YOVEL 7:26 4 2/2 0/1           1       1   3
Team           2 4 6               6
Totals 200:00 88 22/38 10/27 14/16 10 23 33 12 7 12 4 2 24 21 92
        57.9% 37% 87.5%
Head coach: SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS

Head Coaches

MESSINA, ETTORE
AX Armani Exchange Milan
"You always ask me how I do, but I don't do anything, it’s my players who do it. I think it was a great team effort against a very, very good Maccabi team. We had the lead for most of the game and if we don't turn it over two or three times, we probably could have won with a much more comfortable margin, but the players gave everything and we had some very good moments. It's really funny because when you play at home, you probably have a lot more pressure than when you play on the road. You think about this home-court advantage and it’s not easy to play at home. We have a marvelous crowd, the people from Milan are supporting us and that’s very important."
SFAIROPOULOS, IOANNIS
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv
"Today we saw a high-level EuroLeague game between two teams that have quality. Both sides had a lot of tactical moves, showing different types of lineups, and because of that, I think that was one of the best EuroLeague games so far this season. It's tough to lose, but still, I congratulated our players for the fighting spirit they put on tonight. Every time Milano took a small lead, we responded, didn't give up, and it is important we fought until the last second of the game. I want to give a big hug to our fans that came here to Milano. Their voice was in our ears to fight until the end. I want to congratulate Milano and my friend Ettore Mesina."

Players

SCOLA, LUIS
AX Armani Exchange Milan
"It's a huge win for us. I thought they were the best team in the EuroLeague so far. They come into our place and coming off a great win by 40 on the road. You know, it’s a game of runs and we’re going to make a run and they’re going to make a run and it’s whoever can get the best run and hold on to their run the best is the one who has the best chance to win. We made plays when we had to make plays. I think it was a solid performance overall by our team. It was a good day. It’s a good day. Played well, we won and things are going well for us in the EuroLeague."
RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO
AX Armani Exchange Milan
"It was great, we bounced back from the last two losses we had in the EuroLeague at Khimki and here in the [Italian League]. We're a strong team, we compete very well and we have to keep going, especially here at home. For everybody, it’s easier when we play with a lot of energy. We are a team capable of competing very well and I feel especially comfortable with a lot of energy."
COHEN, JAKE
Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv
"It's unfortunate to lose, but Milano is a good team, especially at home. We did a really good job fighting, a couple of times we were down, things looked bad, but we kept on coming back to the game and it came down to the last few possessions. There is a lot of positives to take out of this game, but obviously, we have things to learn from. I'm really confident about these guys in this room that they will do that and stay professional, keep their heads up, and I think it will be a positive step forward for us."
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