Milan limit CSKA to 57 points, while American trio guides the path to the Armani victory / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Mikhail Serbin/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Mikhail Serbin/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

In a battle between two of the teams that reached the Final Four last season, CSKA Moscow (12-8) hosted AX Armani Exchange Milan (13-6) in the Russian capital.

Player of the Game EFF 19 Kyle Hines Points 12 Accuracy 4-6 Rebounds 4 Assists 1

Ettore Messina's squad overcame the Army club 67-57 (23-10, 17-25, 15-11, 12-11) and got their third Turkish Airlines EuroLeague win in a row. CSKA scored a season-low 57 points. The previous one was 65 points at Real Madrid.

After a more successful third quarter for Milan (55-46), Troy Daniels, Sergio Rodriguez, and Devon Hall extended their team's prosperous stretch, organizing a 7-0 run at the start of the fourth period, and Armani Exchange were in front by 16 points (62-46).

Both clubs were struggling to score and it was a favorable scenario for the Italian squad. Kyle Hines and Trey Kell's free throws consolidated the convincing victory over the Russians with 1:30 to go (67-53).

Kyle Hines was the top performer with 12 points (4/6 2PT, 4/5 FT), 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 3 blocks, and 19 PIR. Devon Hall and Troy Daniels added 13 points apiece.

"There were a lot of players that stepped up on the absence of missing Gigi Datome and Jerian Grant. That was the key. It is always the next man up for us. I think our defense was the key. We were able to try to get them out of the things they liked to do because CSKA is a tremendous offensive team," Hines commented post-game.

"I think we arranged a very, very good defensive performance. We managed to keep them under 60 points, which is a great accomplishment. Both teams were missing key players and we managed to have more depth from our bench," Ettore Messina said.

Iffe Lundberg was the bright spot for the losing side, posting 15 points (5/9 2PT, 1/5 3PT, 2/3 FT), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 15 PIR.

Points this season

45%75,1Points made:75,1Accuracy:45,5%Place in standings:11Record max:84Record min:67Best scorer:Shavon ShieldsTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

"Unfortunately, the 23-10 (in the first quarter) hurt us a lot down the stretch in a game that we were chasing. We came three times close to take the lead. We had possession with -2, with -1, but we did not manage to take the lead. As I said, we have won 47-44 the (final) three quarters, but the big loss was in the opener," told Itoudis after the loss.

After three straight shots from behind the arc by Sergio Rodriguez and Troy Daniels, Milan closed the first quarter, arranging a 9-0 run and creating a double-digit lead (23-10).

Though, CSKA responded in the second, gradually melting their deficit. The backcourt duo of Iffe Lundberg and Marius Grigonis were guiding the path. Both clubs went into the break, while the scoreboard was showing 35-40.

EuroLeague's back-to-back round MVP Daniel Hackett, Will Clyburn, and Semen Antonov missed the game for CSKA, while Milan were forced to play without Jerian Grant, Luigi Datome, Shavon Shields, and Konstantinos Mitoglou.

Armani: Troy daniels 13, Devon Hall 13, Kyle Hines 12 (4 REB, 3 BLK), Trey Kell 9.

CSKA: Iffe Lundberg 15 (4 REB), Tornike Shengelia 13 (7 REB), Joel Bolomboy 7.

Highlights

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