Milan undefeated after dumping Maccabi
AX Armani Exchange Milan remained undefeated in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague after defeating Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 83-72 at Mediolanum Forum on Tuesday. Milan improved to 3-0 in the standings while Maccabi dropped to 1-2. Devon Hall paced the winners with 17 points, Dinos Mitoglou added 16 and Malcolm Delaney 10 for Milan. Derrick Williams led Maccabi with 19 points, James Nunnally added 16, Jalen Reynolds 13 and Mathias Lessort 10. Delaney and Nicolo Melli fueled an early 17-2 run that helped Milan to a double-digit margin, 26-15, after 10 minutes. Mitoglou struck three times from downtown in the second quarter and got plenty of help from everyone to break the game open, 52-30, at halftime. Maccabi kept trying after the break, but Milan kept a safe margin throughout the second half, cruising to a well-deserved win.
Nunnally got Maccabi going with a three-pointer, fed Lessort for a wild alley-oop slam and added a fade-away jumper for a 5-7 lead. Shavon Shields stepped up with a driving layup and Kaleb Tarczewski added an alley-oop dunk that put Milan ahead, 9-7. Delaney capped an 8-0 run with a triple. Reynolds scored down low to make it 13-9. Melli had 6 points, including a couple of close baskets, in a 9-0 run that made it a double-digit game, 22-9. Scottie Wilbekin and Nunnally tried to change things for the guests, but Sergio Rodriguez buried a corner triple for a 26-15 Milan lead after 10 minutes.
Reynolds and Kyle Hines traded layups early in the second quarter. Shields scored again and Mitoglou buried a three-pointer that broke the game open, 35-19. Lessort tried to ignite Maccabi's comeback with a layup, but Hines and Mitoglou pushed the hosts' margin to 40-21. Lessort followed a dunk with a power layup and Williams found his first points, but a red-hot Mitoglou, Delaney and Melli gave Milan a new game-high lead, 49-27. Hall took over with a three-point play that fixed the halftime score at 52-30.
Nunnally kept pushing Maccabi after the break but he didn't find much help around. Meanwhile, Hall banked in a floater and struck from downtown for a 57-35 Milan margin. Williams struck from downtown and Wilbekin followed Reynolds's layup-plus-foul with a triple that caused the hosts to stop the game at 60-44. Wilbekin insisted from beyond the arc but so did Luigi Datome for a 63-47 score. Reynolds scored down low to make it 63-49 after 30 minutes.
Mitoglou scored twice around the basket - his first two-pointers of the night - early in the fourth quarter to keep Milan out of trouble, 67-49. Shields and Hall joined the three-point shootout, but Williams struck three times from beyond the arc and got help from Reynolds to give Maccabi hope at 75-61 with over 6 minutes to go. Hines stepped up with a layup, Milan improved its three-point defense and Hall sealed the outcome from the foul line.
Balance, accuracy lead Milan to win
AX Armani Exchange Milan distributed its offense close to perfection in the first half of its game against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv. Seven players scored 4 points or more, led by Malcolm Delaney, who had 10. Before the break, Milan dished 12 assists and committed just 4 turnovers, hit 11 of 16 two-point shots (68.8%) and 6 of 14 shots from beyond the arc (42.9%). It also outrebounded Maccabi 20-13, pulling down 16 defensive boards. That allowed Milan to dominate the game's rhythm and get a 22-point halftime lead, 52-30. The PIR difference - Milan 64, Maccabi 22 - said everything about Milan's first-half dominance.
Milan uses mammoth run to take off
James Nunnally buried a fallaway jumper to give Maccab Playtika Tel Avivi a 5-7 lead early in its road game against AX Armani Exchange Milan. Shavon Shields scored in penetration and Kaleb Tarczewski added an alley-oop slam and after that, everything clicked for Milan. Maccabi started to miss shots and Delaney found answers for Milan with a three-pointer. Soon, the hosts found a new go-to guy in Nicolo Melli, who scored a beautiful basket in the low post and soon added a backdoor layup. When the dust settled, Milan led 22-9, had been on a 17-2 run and was well on its way to get another home victory.
Mitoglou's three-point exhibition
Dinos Mitoglou of AX Armani Exchange Milan has quickly transitioned to the power forward spot, seeing a lot of playing time alongside Kyle Hines. Mitoglou was Milan's X-factor in his team's home win against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, finishing the game with 16 points in as many minutes. He hit a career-high 4 three-point shots - his previous record was 3 three-pointers made with Panathinaikos OPAP Athens against Khimki Moscow Region on October 2, 2020. He buried 3 shots from beyond the arc in the second quarter alone, allowing Milan to break the game open, and another off a pump fake in the third quarter.

Tuesday, October 12, 2021
Euroleague.net