Avtodor beat Nizhny Novgorod on the road – 83:70 (18:25, 20:16, 20:22, 25:7).
The best scorers
Nizhny Novgorod: Sergey Toropov (14), Rolands Freimanis (12), Ivan Strebkov (12), Anton Astapkovich (11), Mikhail Kulagin (11).
Avtodor: Jaron Johnson (25 + 5 rebounds), Philip Scrubb (16 + 5 assists), Zeljko Sakic (10 + 6 rebounds).
Game progress
Both teams came the Volga Derby with 2-game loosing streak. Nevertheless, the Saratov team had a better place in the standings: Avtodor closed the Top-3 teams, while Nizhny was only the 7th.
The start of the game was for the Saratov team, but the guests could not develop their lead. Nizhny Novgorod quickly seized the initiative with 12:2 run, which was started by 2 3-pointers by Dmitry Khvostov and Ivan Strebkov. Teammates were actively supported by Mikhail Kulagin and Anton Astapkovich. The Russian duo made 3 long-range shots in a 1.5 minute, and the hosts became 10 points. By the end of the 1st quarter, Avtodor managed to reduce the score only slightly – 18:25.
The beginning of the 2nd quarter was an equal. At the middle of the quarter, Avtodor began to systematically reduce the gap, but Kulagin and Astapkovich stopped the guests’ run again with 2 3-pointers. And Sergey Toropov and Alexander Gankevich actions in the paint, Nizhny Novgorod managed to hold the lead by the halftime – 41:38.
Wow, what a SLAM @TooEvsy4 😱 pic.twitter.com/mHMxkSQHBo
— VTB League (@VTBUL) February 18, 2022
Nizhny Novgorod got the lead for a short time: at the start of the 2nd half, Kenny Chery equalized the score with a 3-point shot, and after Zeljko Sakic put Avtodor ahead after free-throws – 44:43. But once again, Nizhny Novgorod continued to score 3-pointers: now Rolands Freimanis and Ivan Strebkov shots helped the hosts to keep the lead and end the quarter as a leader – 63:58.
At the start of the final 10 minutes, the guests caught the courage of Jaron Johnson. The American forward brought his team 14 points in a row and again put the Saratov team ahead – 72:68.
The key moment
6 minutes was decisive, and the hosts scored only 2 points. But the Saratov team finally got control of the game. Philip Scrubb scored a 3-pointer 1.5 berofe the final buzzer and finally .
Avtodor interrupts an unsuccessful series and is fixed on the third line in the standings – 83:70.
Hero
Jaron Johnson. The forward single-handedly turned the course of the game, scoring 19 points in the final quarter. In total, the American scored 25 points and 5 rebounds with 24 minutes on the court.
Numbers
13 – Avtodor came back after loosing by 13 points and won the game.
Comments
Emil Rajkovicj, Avtodor Head Coach :
– First of all, I want to congratulate my team on the win over such an extremely difficult team. It is very important that before the pause for the national teams’ games, we managed to get in the Top-3 and solve the problem of reaching the quarterfinals of the European Cup. I am also glad that we were able to present this win, including to our fans who came to Nizhny Novgorod. We have heard their support and are very grateful to them.
Zoran Lukic, Nizhny Novgorod Head Coach :
– A well-deserved Avtodor win. At key moments, they managed to maintain the pace, broke the game and turned it in their favor. For 35 minutes we looked more than a worthy opponent. To be honest, I expected the worst performance from my team, because we are not functionally ready yet. In the last five minutes, we deflated like balloons, lost focus, thought not about how to score points, and this is the key reason for our loss. Considering how we’ve been training lately, maybe in 3×3 basketball we would still have won against Avtodor, but we’re still playing 5×5.
What’s next
Nizhny Novgorod: road game against Lokomotiv Kuban on March 2.
Astana: home game versus CSKA on March 7
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