Milan secured their second win of the season in the EuroLeague by defeating Olympiacos at home by 65-53.
The beginning of the game hinted at a fierce battle. Olympiacos had the early advantage, and later, the teams took turns leading. In the final moments of the first quarter, the home team played better, giving the Italian champions a two-point lead after ten minutes of basketball.
Milan opened the second quarter excellently, extending their lead to seven points. Thomas Walkup brought the guests back into the game with three-pointers. In the final moments of the highly competitive first half, Olympiacos made a comeback and went into halftime with a one-point lead.
The intense battle continued into the second half. With a 7-0 run, the home team made a comeback to take a 38-34 lead. After a reaction from Georgios Bartzokas, the guests regrouped. Both teams showcased excellent defense throughout the third quarter. Milano finished the third quarter with a three-point lead, heading into the final ten minutes.
The guests tightened their defense at the start of the last quarter, creating a 4-0 run to take the lead. However, the home team had a ready response, stringing together nine points to lead 53-45. Olympiacos didn’t give up, trying in every way to get back into the game. But Milano’s team had complete control of the match, and they comfortably closed it out.
Nikola Mirotic led his team to victory with 20 points, while Nikola Milutinov was the top scorer for the visitors with 15 points.
Milano’s next match will be an away game against Real Madrid, while Olympiacos will host Partizan.
MILANO – OLYMPIACOS 65:53 (19:17, 12:15, 13:9, 21:12)
Arena: Mediolanum Forum, Milano
Referees: Boltauzer, Lezcano, Cortes
Milano: Poythress 0, Pangos 16, Tonut 0, Melli 3, Kamagate 2, Ricci 0, Flaccadori 6, Shileds 12, Hall 2, Mirotic 20, Hines 0, Voigtmann 4
Olympiacos: Walkup 11, Cannan 3, Lountzis 4, Larentzakis 2, Pappas 2, Fall 2, Papanikolaou 4, Brazdeikis 6, Peters 4, Milutinov 15, Sikma 0, Tanoulis 0