Pari Nizhny Novgorod defeated Samara on the road – 89:87 (16:21, 23:25, 27:21, 23:20).
Game progress
The teams started the game on equally, playing hard and contact. The hosts looked a little better in offense. Mikhail Kulagin 11 points and aggressive defense helped Samara to take a lead in the second quarter – 27:18 . But Aubrey Dawkins and JaKeenan Gant got Nizhny Novgorod back in the game. The American duo scored 17 points combined and even gave the guests the lead. However, the hosts veterans organised Pari NN run. Three offensive rebounds by Aleksandr Gudumak and the same Kulagin gave Samara back the lead before the halftime – 46:39
Key moment
The hosts maintained a comfortable score difference for most of the third quarter, but Kasey Shepherd solo performance cut the deficit to a minimum before the last quarter – 66:67. Five minutes before the end, Gudumak scored 8 points in a row and strengthened Samara lead, but Sergey Kozin team responded with 3 long-range shots and entered the clutch with 1-point difference.
Dawkins and Gant increased the guests’ lead to 88:84, but Brendan Adams gave Samara hope. Evgenii Baburin made a free throw, but Andrey Sopin missed his shot.
X-factor
Long-range shooting played an important role in Nizhny Novgorod win. The guests had good percentage from the game (53.8%), which helped to change the game in the last quarter.
Facts
Nizhny Novgorod went into clutch for the third time in a row. In previous games, Nizhny snatched a win on the final possession against CSKA (77:75) and lost on the road to Zenit (78:81). Sergey Kozin team became the League leader in games that ended with a difference of less than 4 points.
The hosts’ top scorers were Mikhail Kulagin (21 points) and Aleandksr Gudumak (20 points), which became the best scoring of the season so far. Both players played for Nizhny Novgorod during their careers: Kulagin in the 2021/22 season, and Gudumak in the 2016/17 and 2018/19 seasons.
Leaders
Samara: Mikhail Kulagin (21 + 5 rebounds), Aleksandr Gudumak (20), Brendan Adams (19 + 6 assists), Ilia Popov (10).
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: Zach Nutall (16), Aleksandr Chadov (13 + 10 rebounds), Aubrey Dawkins (13), Evgenii Baburin (10).
What’s next
Samara: October 19 at home versus Astana.
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: October 20 at home against MBA-MAI.
