Napoli defeated Milan with a score of 77-68 in the second round of the Italian Serie A, handing the EuroLeague team their first loss.
From the very start, it was clear that this would be a tough day for the team from the ‘Fashion Capital.’ The Neapolitans started the match excellently. Midway through the first quarter, the score was 19-5 in favor of the white and blue. Milan tried to get back into the game, but at the end of the first quarter, the score was 23-13 for the team from southern Italy.
The ‘Mannequins’ significantly stepped up their game in the second quarter. Napoli had a 12-point lead at the beginning of this period, but that advantage quickly disappeared. Milan managed to come back to life with a few mini-runs and went into halftime trailing by just two points. The next quarter turned out to be a complete disaster for the team led by Ettore Messina.
Igor Milicic‘s team played phenomenally in this part of the game. They started this quarter with an 11-0 run. Simply put, the team from Lombardy couldn’t score. The streak was finally broken by a three-pointer, but by then, it was too late. Napoli shot 9/14 in this period, and this segment of the game propelled them to a significant victory.
The lead of the team from southern Italy reached a maximum of 17 points in the final quarter. The ‘Mannequins’ tried to make a comeback, but there wasn’t enough time. They narrowed the gap to nine points by the end, and Milan suffered their first defeat in the new Serie A season, the second consecutive loss in all competitions.
The standout performers for the blue and whites were Tomislav Zubcic, who scored 17 points, followed by Tariq Owens, who had a double-double, and Marek Sokolowski, both contributing 16 points each. Nikola Mirotic had another excellent game, scoring 26 points, but none of his teammates scored more than ten points.