Partizan closed the opening day of the EuroLeague with a dominant victory over Olimpia Milano (92-76), built on an outstanding performance by Carlik Jones in the fourth quarter.
A game that leveled at the wrong time
The Serbians led for most of the game, but Milan managed to tie it at the end of the third quarter (57-57) and bring uncertainty back to the scoreboard.
It didn't last long. In the opening moments of the fourth quarter came the decisive blow, and it had only one protagonist.
The Carlik Jones quarter
The point guard scored eight points and assisted on eight more of his team's first sixteen points in that final quarter. In other words, he was directly involved in all of the home team's scoring in the stretch that decided the game.
With that run, Partizan went up by more than ten points and never looked back.
Jones finished as the game's leading scorer with 20 points and 10 assists. He was joined by Lamar Stevens with 11 and Kevarrius Hayes with 10.
Milan comes up empty
On the Italian side, Marko Guduric and Alec Peters scored 17 points each and Devon Hall added 13.
It's a poor start for a team that has rebuilt its roster with eight signings this summer and faces the season with Peppe Poeta in his first full year as head coach, following two consecutive seasons without playoffs.