AS Monaco escaped with a narrow 82–79 road win over EA7 Emporio Armani Milan on Thursday night, with Daniel Theis and Elie Okobo leading the charge in a EuroLeague Round 3 thriller.
The night was expected to center around Nikola Mirotic’s reunion with his former team, but instead it was Theis who stole the spotlight in his first return to Milan since debuting for Monaco there last season. The German big man finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and a +8 plus-minus, setting the tone early before foul trouble limited his fourth-quarter minutes.
Monaco started sharper on both ends, building a 22–17 lead after the first quarter. Theis imposed his presence inside, while Mike James — facing his former club — and Okobo kept the scoreboard ticking. At halftime, Monaco held a slim 41–36 advantage.
Milan responded behind Devyn Booker and Marko Guduric, who combined for key baskets in the third quarter, but the visitors remained in control. Theis’s activity helped Monaco stretch the margin to 66–62 entering the final period.
The final ten minutes turned into a battle of composure. Jaron Blossomgame opened the fourth with a reverse layup, and Okobo followed with a series of isolation buckets to push Monaco ahead 73–65. Alpha Diallo’s lone three-pointer of the night and James’s mid-range jumper created a 79–69 cushion — Monaco’s largest lead.
Then came Milan’s rally. Guduric sparked an 8–0 run to trim the deficit to 77–79, forcing Monaco coach Vassilis Spanoulis to reinsert Mirotic, who had struggled with fouls and was limited to 6 points. The veteran forward made a crucial offensive rebound off a missed Matthew Strazel three, earning a foul and splitting his free throws to make it 80–77.
Booker’s turnaround jumper cut the margin to one possession, but Diallo’s chase-down block on Shavon Shields with seconds remaining sealed the result. Strazel hit two late free throws to close the contest at 82–79.
Monaco improved to 2–1 with its second consecutive EuroLeague victory, while Milan fell to 1–2 despite Guduric’s 10-point fourth quarter.
