Bayern rallies past Milan to even series
FC Bayern Munich’s fairytale season stayed alive as the German team came back from 13 points down to knock off AX Armani Exchange Milan 85-82 and force Game 5. Milan pulled away late in the first half and the advantage was 42-55 early in the third quarter. Bayern fought back and went ahead at 80-79 with 3 minutes to play. The hosts were trailing by two points when Vladimir Lucic threw down an alley-oop pass from Paul Zipser and hit the bonus free throw with 23 seconds to play. Lucic, the hero from Game 3, calmly sank two more free throws with 8.3 seconds remaining to ice the game and keep Bayern’s dreams of a first-ever Final Four alive. Wade Baldwin led Bayern with 18 points while Zipser scored all 16 of his points in the final 17 minutes. Lucic and JaJuan Johnson both picked up 12 points and DJ Seeley added 11 points. Bayern struggled to slow down Malcolm Delaney, who totalled 28 points, while Shavon Shields added 17 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists for Milan. Zach LeDay and Kevin Punter both chipped in 10 points but it was not enough and Milan will have to finish the series at home for the three-time European champion to make the Final Four for the first time in 29 years.