Maccabi Tel Aviv dunked all over Armani Milano 75-58 as the yellow-and-blue dominated the Italian squad inside the paint to record the victory. Centers Jalen Reynolds and Ante Zizic both scored in double digits and provided more than half of the team’s points in the paint to sew up the win.

Avi Even’s team raced out to an early lead as Derrick Williams and James Nunnally paced the attack while Zizic and Reynolds got busy in the second frame, however, Devon Hall and Nicolo Melli pulled the visitors to within 3-points, 40-37 by halftime. Maccabi turned up the defensive intensity with Khyri Thomas to begin the second half as the hosts held Messina’s team to just 9-points and in the final frame Reynolds and Nunnally out the finishing touches on the victory.

Reynolds and Nunnally led the way with 14 points each while Zizic added 12 points in the win. Hall paced Milano with 11 points, Melli added 10 points and Shavon Shields scored 9 points in the loss.

“First of all, this win came from a lot of energy from all the players that stepped on the floor, and every player that was on the bench,” Maccabi coach Avi Even explained. Second thing, the atmosphere and the energy that the crowd brought today was crazy. I think we played good basketball for most of the minutes. We pushed the ball inside to the right players.”

“Maccabi attacked one on one and drove into the paint,” Milano bench boss Ettore Messina began. “They used both Zizic and Reynolds very well. They deserved the game and we turned over the ball 19 times so it’s my responsibility to have them ready. We shot the ball terrible and in addition to this, we turned it over 19 times, which is a terrible combination but again, it is my responsibility to help the players play better”

Ante Zizic also reflected on the game, “We did a great job for the first 15 minutes, but in the last 5 minutes, we lost our concentration. They started doing little things that led to this score, running the fastbreak. In the second half, from the start of the third quarter, we did an amazing job overall. We kept this team to under 60 points, which is amazing. Huge win for us, and we are one step closer to our goal.”

Derrick Williams and Ante Zizic each put down a dunk to begin the game in earnest for Maccabi Tel Aviv, Troy Daniels went from deep and Nicolo Melli scored inside for Milano, but the yellow-and-biue air show continued with another dunk via Keenan Evans while Kyle Hines matched him at the other end as the hosts held a slim 8-7 lead midway through the first quarter. Malcolm Delaney want in for a layup, Scottie Wilbekin, Williams and James Nunnally went from deep while Williams added another bucket in the paint to give Maccabi a 23-11 lead after ten minutes of play.

Shavon Shields started the second quarter off with points, Khyri Thomas dunked in the open court, Jalen Reynolds finished off an alley-oop and then put down a monster sized poster on Kye Hines to bump the lead up to 31-16 with 7:38 left in the period. Zizic put in a pair of baskets, Devon Hall and Jerian Grant scored for Ettore Messina’s squad while Delaney dialled up long distance. Melli scored, Hall checked in with a 3-point play and a triple to pull Milano all the way back to just 3-points with an 18-5 run as Maccabi clung to a 40-37 advantage at halftime.

Evans began the third quarter with a layup, Melli dunked and hit a jumper at the other end, Zizic scored from the baseline and Evans went from downtown to keep Maccabi in front 47-41 midway through the frame. Thomas scored a layup and a triple, Sergio Rodriguez came right back with a 3-pointer of his own and Reynolds scored in the paint in Avi Even’s team a 56-46 lead after thirty minutes of action.

Nunnally hit a pair of baskets to get the fourth quarter rolling, Reynolds added points in the paint and an alley-oop, Ziv then went coast to coast for a dunk, Hall answered with a 3-pointer but Reynolds came right back with a bucket to keep the yellow-and-blue in front 68-51 with 6 minutes left in regulation time. Ziv found the bottom of the basket once again, Reynolds did as well but Shields and Giampaolo Ricci scored for Milano, however, it was too little too late as Maccabi notched the blowout win.