Astana beat PARMA on the road – 84:83 (16:24, 35:23, 19:20, 14:16).
Top scorers
PARMA: Adas Juskevicius (15 + 6 assists), Lorenzo Williams (15 + 5 rebounds + 5 assists), Vladimir Ivlev (12), Eigirdas Zukauskas (12 + 8 rebounds), Robert Johnson (10).
Aatana: jeremiah Hill (21 + 5 assists), Devyn Marble (16 + 6 rebounds), Martins Meiers (14), Ojars Silins (12).
Story
The hosts started the game without hesitation. The first four possessions of Parma turned out to be accurate and already in the beginning of the game they were leading – 12:3. The guests tried to return to the game with the help of some distance shots. But there wasn’t enough of three-pointers for a full comeback. The efficiency of the Parma offense was noticeably higher, which resulted in their leadership in the first quarter – 24:16.
At the start of the second quarter, Astana began to go inside more often, so that they could seize the initiative. A series of successful possessions by Devyn Marble and Adonis Thomas gave Astana the lead in the game – 29:28. Parma tried to squeeze out the opponent’s offense on the perimeter again. But this time that tactic didn’t work. The snipers, led by Jeremiah Hill, attacked from behind the arc very confidently, which helped Astana hold the lead by the big break – 51:47.
In the second half of the game, the equal basketball was seen once again. Parma, with Lorenzo Williams in the lead, at some point seized the initiative. But here Jeremiah Hill returned to the game. Three accurate three-pointers of Astana guard allowed them to keep the leadership before the final part of the game – 70:67.
Key moment
The nervous nature of the game put pressure on the players of both teams. In the final quarter, the rivals faced difficulty while scoring points, but the ending turned out to be efficient. Martins Meiers performed successfully under the ring twice from the Astana’s part, and Parma responded with three long-range shots from Adas Juskevicius and Eigirdas Zukauskas
The key moment of the game happened in the last possession of Astana. With a minimal advantage – 84:83 – Astana got the right to possess the ball 31 seconds before the buzzer. The hosts in this situation did not dare to foul, and that was their fatal mistake. Astana squeezed all possible time from their offense, and even Thompson’s miss did not become fatal for them. Parma had only a few moments left, which turned into a useless shot from their half.
Hero
Jeremiah Hill became the most productive (21 points) and efficient (24) player of the game. The guard scored all his points with long shots, updating his personal record for accurate three-pointers per game (7).
Stat
13 – three-pointers became the main option of the teams in this meeting. They performed 13 shots from behind the arc.
Next
PARMA: December 20 vs Zielona Gora
Astana: December 26 vs Zenit
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