Dubai Basketball produced one of the most complete performances of the season on Tuesday evening, beating EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 99-92 at the Coca-Cola Arena. The win moved both teams to identical 9–9 records in the EuroLeague standings.
Dubai controlled the match from the opening quarter and never trailed, using a 31-20 first period to build momentum early. The hosts responded to every Milan run and finished the match with a strong fourth quarter to secure the home win.
McKinley Wright IV was the central figure, producing a PIR of 30 in over 32 minutes of action. He finished with 19 points, nine assists, four rebounds and two steals while converting 10 of his 11 free throws.
Wright scored 11 of his points in the final quarter, steadying the attack as Milan tried several times to take their first lead of the evening. His decision-making and error drawing proved decisive in the closing minutes.
The performance continued an excellent December stretch for the EuroLeague rookie, who averaged 19.0 points, 9.8 assists and 4.2 rebounds over five games this month. Dubai went 3-2 in that period with wins over Anadolu Efes Istanbul, FC Bayern Munich and Milan.
Dwayne Bacon complemented Wright with 25 points in his second appearance since returning from injury. Bacon scored 20 of those points in the first half and added eight rebounds to strengthen Dubai’s physical lead.
Dubai’s depth in the frontcourt also played a role, with Mfiondu Kabengele recording 17 points and seven rebounds, while Filip Petrušev contributed 13 points with efficient shooting. The home team finished 58.1 percent from two-point range and 80.6 percent at the free throw line.
Milan got 15 points from Josh Nebo and 14 from Shavon Shields, but struggled to sustain defensive stops. The Italian team scored 56 points in the paint and could not prevent Wright from repeatedly going downhill late.
The victory marked Dubai’s seventh home victory of the season, improving the Coca-Cola Arena record to 7-2. Only Real Madrid and Valencia have better home figures in the competition.
Dubai head coach Jurica Golemac’s team now prepare for a road test against Real Madrid next Friday. Milan will try to recover the same day with an away match against Virtus Bologna.
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