Astana Kazakhstan defeated Enisey Russia at home, 92-75 (30-19, 21-16, 26-14, 15-26).
Top Scorers
Astana: Leonidas Kaselakis (25 + 7 reb), Justin Carter (20), Larry Gordon (16), Anthony Clemmons (15 + 6 ast)
Enisey: Anthony Hilliard (20), Vitali Liutych (12)
Story
Led by 25 points from Leonidas Kaselakis, Astana shredded Enisey’s defense in the Kazakh capital en route to a 17-point win.
The home team shot 52% from beyond the arc (11-21) and led by 28 points entering the 4th quarter to pick up its second victory of the season.
Astana took control early in the 1st quarter and never trailed again. Justin Carter threw down a dunk on Suleiman Braimoh, Kaselakis drilled three 3-pointers and Astana led 30-19 at the end of the period.
Back-to-back triples early in the 2nd from Larry Gordon stretched the advantage to 20 (40-20). Enisey trimmed the deficit to 16 at halftime, but it wasn’t enough.
Astana put the game away in the 3rd quarter, where it led by as much as 31. The 4th quarter was a mere formality as the home team improved to 2-5, while the visitors dropped to 1-4.
Highlights
. @PBCAstana vs. @BC_Enisey one minute highlights 📹 pic.twitter.com/6RIdgJx8RF
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) November 18, 2017
Stat
25 – This was only the 3rd time Kaselakis has scored in double digits this season, but comes on the heels of a 16-point showing vs. Kalev. If he can stay hot, Astana will have two dangerous scorers between him and Justin Carter.
Quotes
Astana head coach Kostas Flevarakis:
– As it turned out, we played very well for three quarters. We moved the ball on offense and were very sharp on defense. We got into a little foul trouble: for example, Justin Carter had a great start, then had to sit on the bench for a while. But the substitutes did a good job with their minutes. I want to congratulate my team, the club, all the personnel and the fans on the win. We have a little break now, which I hope we’ll use to our advantage.
Enisey head coach Oleg Okulov:
– Above all, we lost the physical battle in the 1st quarter. We lacked an element of confidence in finishing possessions. That gave the opponent an opportunity to pull away. We switched the defense, but it didn’t bring a result.
Up Next
Astana: December 10 home vs. Lokomotiv-Kuban
Enisey: December 1 away vs. Zenit
Snapshot
