After nine consecutive losses over 17 years, AX Armani Exchange Milan downed Real Madrid 76-80 in the Spanish capital on Friday.
Milan gets rare win in Madrid
Game Report
1 min read
After nine consecutive losses over 17 years, AX Armani Exchange Milan downed Real Madrid 76-80 in the Spanish capital on Friday. Milan had lost 14 consecutive games against Real before this season, but has now beaten Los Blancos twice and moves up to 10-7. Real drops to 12-6 and saw a six-game winning streak come to an end. Sergio Rodriguez led the winners with 17 points against his former team. Malcolm Delaney added 14 while Zach LeDay had 12 for Milan. Jaycee Carroll led Real with 20 points. Edy Tavares added 14 while Trey Thompkins had 13 for the hosts, which trailed 41-58 midway through the third quarter but got within 74-77 before free throws by Rodriguez and Delaney sealed the outcome in the final seconds.
Regular Season
Round 18 of 34
Group Regular Season
l
w
w
w
w
l
w
l
l
w
Delaney got going Milan going with a driving layup and Kaleb Tarczewski hit a mid-range jumper for a 2-4 lead. Tavares dunked but Kevin Punter and Riccardo Moraschini boosted the guests' edge to 4-8. Alberto Abalde and Fabien Causeur each struck from downtown in an 8-0 run that gave Real its first lead, 12-8. LeDay joined the three-point shootout and Kyle Hines added a layup but Thompkins downed a couple of jumpers and Carlos Alocen scored off a steal for a 18-13 Real margin, which LeDay and Rodriguez cut to 18-17 after 10 minutes. Thompkins kept pacing Real early in the second quarter but Rodriguez, Luigi Datome and Michael Roll fueled a 0-8 run that made Milan regain the lead, 21-25. Carroll and Nicolas Laprovittola rescued Real and Gabriel Deck hit a triple for a 28-27 score. Datome answered from beyond the arc and Roll sank a jumper but Laprovittola helped Real tie it at 34-34. Datome and Rodriguez each hit a jumper but Tavares scored down low and Deck downed his second triple for a 39-39 tie at halftime.
Delaney sank a three-pointer in a 0-9 run which saw Tarczewski add a jumper and a tip-in, giving Milan a 39-48 margin. Tavares rescued Real with an alley-oop slam but LeDay did better with a triple and Delaney followed a layup with a floater for a 41-55 Milan lead. Punter struck from downtown but Carroll and Alocen fueled a 6-0 run that gave Real hope at 47-58. Rodriguez buried one from beyond the arc but Carroll kept the hosts within 49-61 after 30 minutes. Hines and Carroll traded baskets early in the second quarter, and Jeff Brooks hit a jump hook for a 14-point Milan lead, 51-65. Real debutant Alex Tyus tried to change the game's momentum with an alley-oop slam, than Carroll added consecutive three-point plays and a bomb from downtown for a 62-67 score. Tyus hit a jumper but Delaney gave Milan fresh air, 64-70, with over 3 minutes left. LeDay sank a jumper and Rodriguez erased Tavares's dunk with a layup for a 66-74 Milan lead with 1:18 left. Tavares scored again and Thompkins hit a triple to get Real within 71-74. But Rodriguez sealed the outcome with a big three-pointer and a pair of free throws down the stretch.
Game Leaders
Pivotal performer
Malcolm Delaney was a consistent threat throughout the game, finishing the game with 14 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 8 fouls drawn for a PIR of 15.
Game-changing moment
Milan broke the game open in the first 6 minutes of the second half. Delaney had 7 points in those minutes, Kaleb Tarczewski scored twice while Zach LeDay and Kevin Punter each buried a three-pointer to boost the guests' lead to 41-58. That 2-19 run made the difference, as Real never came back.
Stellar stat
Milan shot the ball better from beyond the arc, hitting 8-of-17 three-pointers (47.1%). Real only made 8-of-26 shots from downtown (30.8%). The guests only allowed Real to get 5 offensive rebounds, almost half of its season average (9.4 orpg).
Did you know?
Milan broke a really negative streak after Real had won the previous nine consecutive home games against the Italian powerhouse. Milan is now 2-16 against Real in the Spanish capital. Its only previous win in Madrid came on November 11, 2003, 61-62, in EuroCup (then-called ULEB Cup) action.