Italian League Semifinals, Game 1: May 22-23, 2008
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Montepaschi Siena and Lottomatica Roma took the first step to reach the Italian League finals, as both teams got a 1-0 lead in their respective best-of-five semifinal series against Armani Jeans Milano and Air Avellino. Lottomatica Roma had to battle hard to beat Avellino 68-63 in the Italian capital on Friday. David Hawkins paced the winners with 23 points on 9-for-13 two-pointers while Erazem Lorbek posted a double-double of 20 points also on 9-for-13 two-pointers and 10 rebounds for Roma. Devin Smith led Avellino with 24 points. Rodrigo De La Fuente had 6 points in the final 2 minutes to win it for Lottomatica. Meanwhile, Montepaschi topped Milano 75-71 in Siena on Thursday. All-Euroleague guard Terrell McIntyre led the winners with 23 points. Ksistof Lavrinovic added 18 while Bootsy Thornton had 14 for Montepaschi. Melvin Booker had 17 points for Milano, Dusan Vukcevic added 15, Danilo Gallinari 11, Ansu Sesay 10 while Travis Watson pulled down 11 rebounds for the guests, that tried to rally in the final 6 minutes but could not complete their comeback.
Vukcevic and Gallinari helped Milano to get an early 6-9 lead. A three-pointer by Vukcevic kept the guests ahead, 15-20, but McIntyre and a three-pointer by Rimas Kaukenas got Montepaschi within 22-23 after 10 minutes. Thornton and Tomas Ress fueled a 6-0 run that put Montepaschi ahead, 32-29. Booker followed a jumper with a three-pointer to make Milano regain the lead, 36-37, at halftime. Montepaschi found a go-to guy in Lavrinovic, who had 7 unanswered points, including back-to-back three-pointers, after the break. Lavrinovic led an 11-0 run that gave Siena its first double-digit lead, 54-43. Milano was not done, however, even when an outstanding Lavrinovic, McIntyre and Kaukenas made it a 16-point game, 70-54, with 5 minutes to go. Vukcevic and Gallinari brought Milano within 75-71 already in the final minute but it happened to be too little, too late for the guests.
Avellino ran its offense through Smith in the opening minutes, but Hawkins took over early to make Lottomatica get a 12-8 lead. Marques Green stepped up for the guests but a three-pointer by Roberto Gabini gave Lottomatica a 19-15 edge after 10 minutes. A layup by Nikola Radulovic made Avellino get a 22-23 edge early in the second quarter. Lorbek shined with consecutive three-point plays but Smith was unstoppable. A driving layup by Roko Ukic made Lottomatica regain the lead, 34-33, at halftime. The third quarter saw as many as 9 lead changes, but Green and Radulovic helped Avellino to get a 46-49 edge after 30 minutes. Three-pointers by Ukic, Gabini and Jon Stefansson gave Roma a 55-51 edge, but Avellino was not done. A layup by Radulovic brought the guests within 59-58 with less than 3 minutes remaining, but Lottomatica started to go to the foul line often. Free throws by De la Fuente and Gregor Fucka put Lottomatica ahead for good. A three-pointer by Smith brought Avellino within 63-60 but De la Fuente scored again to seal the outcome.
| Semifinal Playoffs, best of 5 games |
| Record | Team | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | | 1 | Montepaschi Siena (1) | 75 | May 24 | May 26 | *May 28 | *May 30 | | 0 | AJ Milano (5) | 71 | - | - | - | - | | 1 | Lottomatica Roma (2) | 68 | May 25 | May 27 | *May 29 | *May 31 | | 0 | Air Avellino (3) | 63 | - | - | - | - |
| Semifinal games | | Game 1 | Montepaschi Siena vs. AJ Milano | 75-71 | May 22 | | Game 1 | Lottomatica Roma vs. Air Avellino | 68-63 | May 23 | | Game 2 | AJ Milano vs. Montepaschi Siena | - | May 24 | | Game 2 | Air Avellino vs. Lottomatica Roma | - | May 25 | | Game 3 | Montepaschi Siena vs. AJ Milano | - | May 26 | | Game 3 | Lottomatica Roma vs. Air Avellino | - | May 27 | | Game 4 | AJ Milano vs. Montepaschi Siena | - | *May 28 | | Game 4 | Air Avellino vs. Lottomatica Roma | - | *May 29 | | Game 5 | Montepaschi Siena vs. AJ Milano | - | *May 30 | | Game 5 | Lottomatica Roma vs. Air Avellino | - | *May 31 |
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