NBA Europe Live 2012: Celtics down Milan

The Boston Celtics avenged their earlier NBA Europe Live 2012 loss to Fenerbhace Ulker on Friday with a solid win over EA7 Emporio Armani yesterday, 105-75.

The two squads put on a shooting exhibition in the first quarter, with Boston coming out with a 34-31 lead after the first 12 minutes. Rajon Rondo put up an impressive 17 points in the frame, shooting seven for seven. In the second the Celtics took advantage of solid defense and an 18-2 run to build a 55-42 advantage at the half. In the second half, the US squad used scoring runs of 12-0 in the third and another 18-2 string to pull away from the Italians and cruise to a 30-point win.

Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers commented, “We weren’t so aggressive in the first game, there was no guard pressure at all, and we talked about that, and it is good to see more defense, and also spacing on offense was better. The difference was more than it should be. Playing two games against opponents you don’t know is very good for us… Our rebounding was better because our defense was better stopping penetration.”

Ioannis Bourousis tallied 15 points and 14 rebounds for Milan, who played without starter Keith Langford due to an ankle injury he sustained during an Italia Serie A game against Virtus Bologna last week.

EA7 Emporio Armani Milan head coach Sergio Scariolo stated, “It was a good game with many positive things for the first 30 minutes, but then our energy disappeared and also we missed many open shots and gave up a little bit. We have to avoid that in the future. We had our worst period when we played with our starting five together, but I think we did a good job. They played an excellent game, used their athleticism and put great pressure on defense, showing to be one of the best NBA defenses, and it was a pleasure to play against them. It was great to bring to the arena more people to see basketball. When NBA teams play focused, which normally happens in the second or third pre-season game. it’s very tough.”

Boston got 17 points from Jeff Green and 14 from Paul Pierce. EA7 Emporio Armani Milan got 11 points and six assists from Alessandro Gentile and 11 points from Malik Hairston.

EA7 Emporio Armani Milano guard Alessandro Gentile was quoted as saying, “It was an extremely helpful game for me and the team. They are great players, it was a great experience for me. They are verity talented and athletic, and I hope it will help me in the future. To compete with those players can help me to understand what I need to improve to become a better player.”

Serbian big man Darko Milicic added nine rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists in the win for the Celtics, but is getting high praise for what he’s doing away from the ball, namely setting up offensive sets with solid picks.