Delaney shines, while Hines' game-winning free throw gifts Milan a win in OAKA / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

AX Armani Exchange Milan (16-6) wasted a 12-point lead but managed to slip by Panathinaikos OPAP Athens (6-16) 76-75 (14-19, 26-17, 23-15, 13-24) and recover after the previous Turkish Airlines EuroLeague loss to another Greek club Olympiacos Piraeus.

Player of the Game EFF 19 Malcolm Delaney Points 15 Accuracy 5-10 Rebounds 6 Assists 2

Despite being in front comfortably (71-61), Milan complicated their positions with 2:20 to play. They turned the ball over, while Daryl Macon scored a couple of baskets in a row (68-73).

Kyle Hines made a dunk after picture-perfect Malcolm Delaney's assist (75-68) but Nemanja Nedovic managed to answer with a triple (71-75) on the other end with 1:22 to play.

Devon Hall's shot was off the mark, as Daryl Macon cut PAO's deficit to 2 points (73-75) with 30 seconds left. That was not the end, Nemanja Nedovic stole the ball and tied the game at 75.

Though, Kyle Hines saved the day for Armani, grabbing the offensive rebound and drawing the foul with 2 seconds on the clock. The veteran big man nailed the first free throw, missed the second intentionally, and Milan celebrated the tough W.

Malcolm Delaney was the top performer for Milan, posting 15 points (4/5 2PT, 1/5 3PT, 4/4 FT), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover, and 19 PIR.

Kyle Hines aided him with a double-double. He finished the duel with 13 points (5/8 2PT, 3/4 FT), 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 turnovers, and 18 PIR.

"After a bad start, I think we had a very good second quarter and a very good third quarter. Then in the fourth quarter, we had, I think, a 10-12 point lead but in the last 4 or 5 minutes, we just complicated our lives tremendously. We stopped moving the ball, forced situations, and turned it over. And we were saved by a great offensive rebound by Kyle Hines," spoke Ettore Messina post-game.

Nemanja Nedovic led the route in scoring for the losing squad, accumulating 19 points (4/5 2PT, 3/10 3PT, 2/2 FT), 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, and 18 PIR.

AX Armani Exchange Milan / Schedule

AX Armani Exchange Milan UNIKS KazanTue19:30 Panathinaikos Athens AX Armani Exchange Milan75-76 Real Madrid AX Armani Exchange MilanThu19:45

"What can I say? Unfortunately, it was a couple of moments on their side, in our side. The basic problem that we had today was our defensive rebounds, but we fought in the second half. We fought. Congratulations to the players, they fought today. In this tough game within these difficult conditions, they really fought and had a chance at the end to win," commented Dimitris Priftis.

Armani retook game control in their hands at the end of the second quarter. After being down by 5 points (28-33), they closed the first half with a 12-3 run to gain a 4-point lead (40-36), going into the break. Giampaolo Ricci and Kyle Hines were leading the way.

Ettore Messina's squad repeated the successful period's finish in the third, as Milan closed the tally with a 9-2 spurt to build the double-digit advantage (63-51) for the first time.

Armani Exchange: Malcolm Delaney 15 (6 REB), Kyle Hines 13 (10 REB), Giampaolo Ricci 10, Sergio Rodriguez 9 (9 AST).

Panathinaikos: Nemanja Nedovic 19 (5 AST), Georgios Papagiannis 11 (7 REB), Okaro White 11, Daryl Macon 9 (8 AST, 4 STL), Howard Sant-Roos 9.

Highlights

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