Record-breaking Olympiacos set up shooting feast, force Milan to third straight loss / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Giuseppe Cottini/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Giuseppe Cottini/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Olympiacos (8-4) delivered a commanding performance in Milan, crushing AX Armani Exchange (8-4) 93-72 (30-25, 30-20, 12-12, 21-15), largely thanks to their 18 made three-point shots (18/33), which constitute a new club record.

Player of the Game EFF 16 Giannoulis Larentzakis Points 18 Accuracy 5-10 Rebounds 2 Assists 0

The Reds hadn't won in their first four on-the-road outings against FC Barcelona, CSKA Moscow, Zenit Saint Petersburg and Anadolu Efes. In addition, they were coming off a painful home loss, their first in the season, to Greek rivals Panathinaikos for the local league.

However, tonight Giorgos Bartzokas's team bounced back for good behind an excellent offensive showing, which handed them a blowout win against Armani Milan. The Italian side are struggling recently, something that was particularly evident against the Reds. They were 6-0 at Mediolanum Forum, but faltered early on in that one, without being able to close the gap at any point.

Giannoulis Larentzakis registered his career-best in scoring with 18 points overall (0/1 2-point shots, 5/9 3-point shots, 3/3 free-throws, 2 rebounds) and filled Olympiacos with energy on both ends of the court.

Olympiacos went off on an explosive start, as they did against Maccabi. Tyler Dorsey and Sasha Vezenkov paced the visitors combining for 13 points, and Giorgos Bartzokas saw his players execute to perfection near the basket as well. Olympiacos started on 5/6 from the field, getting a 20-8 lead only five minutes into the match.

Shavon Shields and Malcolm Delaney found some open looks, while Kyle Hines was the main responsible for Milan holding down their opponents to just five points in the minutes that concluded the first quarter.

As if the beginning was not impressive enough, Olympiacos were determined to reach record-breaking numbers in their offensive output in the second quarter. The Reds added 35 points to their initial 25-point tally, circulating the ball in an exemplary fashion and registering their all-time best scoring performance in one half (60 points).

Olympiakos Piraeus / Schedule

AX Armani Exchange Milan Olympiakos Piraeus72-93 UNIKS Kazan Olympiakos Piraeus12-0316:00

By halftime, the Greeks were 12/16 from downtown, 7/13 on two-point shots and 10/11 from the free-throw line.

Milan tried to play more aggressive defense and held the Reds scoreless for more than four minutes. Shields kept dropping points on a per-minute basis, while Milan went strong on the offensive rebound, forcing Olympiacos to a passive role.

Despite the Reds' scoring drought, Bartzokas's players were able to put an end to their temporary defensive woes (50-60) thanks to consecutive three-point shots from Papanikolaou and McKissic that paved the way to a partial score of 3-10. The difference approached the 20-point mark again (53-70).

An intense quarrel between Larentzakis and Rodriguez with eight minutes remaining could have been the turning point, but the referees awarded Sloukas with a free throw. Olympiacos were up by 18 (76-58) anyway, but Larentzakis put the icing on the cake with two daggers.

The final score (93-72) constituted Olympiacos's biggest margin in the game.

Shavon Shields logged 26 points (3/9 two-point shots, 3/4 three-point shots, 5/5 free-throws) while adding 5 rebounds, 3 assists. Nevertheless, Armani Milan were unable to stop the Greeks' shooting feast, albeit conceding only 33 points in the second half.

While forward-center Dinos Mitoglou remains sidelined, Malcolm Delaney came back in that game and played almost 20 minutes. Sergio Rodriguez attempted some hero-ball in the fourth quarter, trying to get his team back on track but it was impossible.

Milan's three main bigs (Hines, Tarcewski, Melli) combined for 12 points and 8 rebounds, on a mediocre shooting night for the hosts (9/25 from deep).

AX Armani Exchange Milan: Shavon Shields 26 (6/13 FG, 3/4 3-POINT SHOTS, 5/5 FT, 5 REB, 3 AST), Luigi Datome 12 (5/8 3-POINT SHOTS, 1 REB), Sergio Rodriguez 8 (2/9 FG, 4 REB, 3 AST, 3 TO), Malcolm Delaney 8 (3/7 FG, 2 AST).Olympiacos: Giannoulis Larentzakis 18 (0/1 2-POINT SHOTS, 5/9 3-POINT SHOTS, 3/3 FT, 2 REB), Tyler Dorsey 14 (4/6 3-POINT SHOTS, 4 AST), Sasha Vezenkov 12 (5/8 FG, 5 REB), Hassan Martin 8 (3 REB).

Highlights:

Subscribe to BN+ and get access to exclusive content.