Nizhny Novgorod scored road win in Milan
Nizhny Novgorod did not look like a newcomer as it picked up a big road victory in its first-ever Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 game with a 59-69 win over EA7 Emporio Armani Milan. Trey Thompkins had 19 points and 15 rebounds and Taylor Rochestie picked up 19 points and 8 assists in his return to the lineup as Novgorod opened Group F play with its third straight victory in the competition. Artsiom Parakhouski chipped in with 18 points and Tarence Kinsey had 15 points and 8 rebounds for the winners, who blew the game open with a 3-17 run in the third quarter. Milan, which made just 2 of 26 three-pointers, was paced by 18 points from MarShon Brooks while Daniel Hackett went scoreless.
First quarter: Brooks scores 9 off bench, Novgorod held scoreless for 6:39
Milan coach Luca Banchi made three changes to his starting lineup from the last game in the Regular Season with Daniel Hackett, Alessandro Gentile and Samardo Samuels coming in alongside David Moss and Linas Kleiza. Ainars Bagatskis swapped one player with Thompkins replacing Levan Patsatsia alongside Dimitriy Khvostov, Kinsey, Semen Antonov and Parakhouski while Rochestie did not start the game after missing the last two contests. Both teams struggled in the early going with Khvostov opening the scoring after nearly 90 seconds of action. Parakhouski and Antonov added baskets before a Thompkins dunk made it 0-8. Milan missed its first 6 shots from the field before Gentile scored in the lane to get the hosts on the scoreboard at the 5:35 minute mark. The lead was 4-10 after Parakhouski’s free throw, before Brooks provided a big spark offensively off the bench and the Milan defense stepped up. Brooks nailed a corner jumper and then a straight-on three to knot the game at 10-10 – Milan’s first three-pointer after missing its first five from long range. Novgorod sandwiched free throws by Kinsey and Rochestie around a Samuels power dunk for a 12-14 lead. But Brooks hit two driving layups to give Milan the lead 16-14. And that was the score after 10 minutes as Milan held Novgorod without a basket for the final 6:39 minutes as the visitors missed 8 straight shots.
Second quarter: Milan pulls away, Novgorod rallies back to within 4
Thompkins opened the scoring in the quarter by evening the game at 16-16 and Joe Ragland came off the bench for 2 free throws for an 18-16 lead. Antonov answered with a dunk at the other end, but Milan began to take over the game with Brooks hitting a jumper and Shawn James scoring inside to make it 22-18. Parakhouski did his best to keep Novgorod in the game with a dunk, a layup and 2 blocks, but Kleiza nailed a jumper and three-pointer and Gentile hit another jumper to push the lead to 33-24. Kinsey however answered with a three– Novgorod’s first three-pointer after 11 misses. Parakhouski threw down another dunk and Thompkins hit a reverse layup to get the guests to within 35-31 at intermission.
Third quarter: Novgorod take control with 3-17 run, Thompkins with 13 points
Novgorod once again had a strong start, sparked by Thompkins, who had two baskets after Kinsey’s free throws to open the second half as the guests scored the first 8 points to lead 35-39. Samuels finally got Milan on the scoreboard with a dunk. But Parakhouski scored again and Thompkins had two more baskets before Rochestie’s three-pointer made it a double-digit game 38-48 with a strong 3-17 start to the quarter for the visitors. Brooks had a tip-in and Samuels got a hook shot to fall, but Novgorod did not let up with Kinsey hitting a jumper, Rochestie converting a fast break layup and Thompkins draining a three to open a 42-59 advantage. The score was 44-59 after three quarters.
Fourth quarter: No comeback in the cards
Antonov’s free throws opened the scoring and Rochestie nailed a three after some fine passing to push the lead to 20. Brooks made two layups, but Milan did not get defensive stops with Parakhouski getting a three-point play, a dunk and a lay-in for a 48-71 advantage with four minutes to play. Kinsey’s three-pointer increased the margin to 50-74 and Milan could not get closer than 20 points the rest of the way.
Friday, January 2, 2015
Euroleague.net