Paris Basketball kept rolling at the right time, outlasting EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 103-93 on Thursday night at Adidas Arena for its second straight EuroLeague win in a week.
The victory lifted Paris further into the postseason conversation and dealt a damaging blow to Milan, which fell to 17-18 and now faces a narrow path to stay alive in the race.
Nadir Hifi was the driving force from the opening tip, finishing with 25 points, four assists, four steals and four rebounds in less than 24 minutes.
Paris came out fast and built an early cushion behind its second unit, which supplied 17 bench points in the first quarter and helped produce an 11-point lead after 10 minutes.
Hifi then took over the second period, helping Paris reach 64 first-half points, a new club mark for points scored in a first half.
At halftime, the hosts led 64-41 after forcing Milan into a difficult chase and consistently winning the tempo battle.
Milan responded in the third quarter, though, outscoring Paris 35-23 to cut the gap to 87-76 entering the fourth.
The visitors pushed even harder in the final period and trimmed the margin to 88-87, threatening a comeback after Paris had led by as many as 27 points.
Amath M’Baye steadied the hosts with seven points in a short burst, restoring separation when the game suddenly tightened.
M’Baye finished with 19 points, while Derek Willis added 16 as Paris avoided a collapse and closed out the 10-point win.
The result marked Paris interim head coach Julius Thomas’ first home win since taking over from Francesco Tabellini last week, and it gave Paris a second straight victory after defeating Virtus Bologna two nights earlier.
For Milan, the loss was another setback in a season that now leaves little room for error. Peppe Poeta’s team must win its remaining three games and also get help elsewhere to keep its playoff hopes realistic.
Paris now visits Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade on April 7 before hosting Maccabi Rapyd Tel Aviv on April 9.
Milan heads to Valencia Basket on April 7 and returns home to face FC Bayern Munich on April 9.
