Avtodor Saratov defeated PARMA Perm on the road in overtime, 96-94 (30-29, 20-18, 15-22, 21-17, 10-8).
Top Scorers
PARMA: Yannick Moreira (18 + 10 reb), Tre’ McLean (18 + 5 reb), Codi Miller-McIntyre (16 + 10 reb + 16 ast + 3 stl), Frank Gaines (13)
Avtodor: Coty Clarke (36 + 17 reb), Micah Downs (12), Shaq McKissic (11), Branden Frazier (11)
Story
Forward Micah Downs beat the buzzer in overtime, and Avtodor escaped Perm with a wild 96-94 win.
Saratov forward Coty Clarke scored 36 points to go with 17 rebounds and PARMA swingman Codi Miller-McIntyre posted his second triple-double of the season–16 points, 10 rebounds, 16 assists–but it was Downs who supplied the exclamation mark as Avtodor secured an improbable comeback victory.
Both teams desperately needed a win. Avtodor was looking to catch Khimki for 5th place in the standings, while PARMA had a chance to take over 8th place.
More than 4,400 PARMA fanatics packed the Molot Sports Palace, hoping to see the team take another step toward its first-ever VTB United League playoff berth.
They certainly got their money’s worth as PARMA went toe-to-toe with 6th-place Avtodor behind another remarkable performance from Miller-McIntyre. Neither team ever led by more than eight points, while there were 15 lead changes and 11 ties.
The first two quarters were evenly matched. Coty Clarke started the game on fire, scoring 12 of his 36 points in the first five minutes, including a three-point and four-point play.
There wasn’t much defense on either end in the 1st quarter. Avtodor and PARMA combined for 59 points with the visitors leading 30-29.
The pace slowed in the 2nd quarter as Saratov added two points to its lead, 50-47, entering halftime.
The tables turned in the 3rd quarter. PARMA outscored Avtodor by seven, securing a 69-65 advantage.
American forward Tre’ McLean stretched the home team’s lead to a game-high eight, 77-69, early in the 4th, but Avtodor quickly answered, knotting the score at 79 apiece with three minutes to go.
After Yannick Moreira hit several big free throws late to push PARMA’s lead back to three, Clarke drained a triple on Avtodor’s final possession, forcing overtime.
Overtime
The extra period featured three dramatic swings. Avtodor punched first, scoring the first five points to go up 91-86.
PARMA came right back with an 8-0 run, punctuated by Tre’ McLean’s gritty layup with less than a minute remaining that gave the home team a 94-91 lead.
That’s when everything went south for PARMA. Avtodor earned three consecutive trips to the free-throw line, converting 3-6 to knot the score at 94-94 with seven seconds on the clock. Micah Downs was the final man at the line for the visitors, and missed the second, with McLean ripping down the rebound. But the PARMA forward threw the ball away, returning possession to Avtodor for the final shot. They didn’t waste it.
Justin Robinson inbounded the ball to Downs on the wing, and he drove to the basket, flinging up a runner as time expired to give Saratov the win.
Avtodor improves to 12-9, catching Khimki for 5th place. The two clubs square off next week in Saratov. PARMA, meanwhile, falls into a four-way tie for 8th place with Astana, VEF and Tsmoki-Minsk.
Stat
2 – Codi Miller-McIntyre recorded his second triple-double of the season, becoming the first player in League history to accomplish the feat twice.
.@CMMPatience with the fast break DUNK 😍 pic.twitter.com/wMmp99YwU4
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) April 29, 2018
Quotes
PARMA head coach Nikolajs Mazurs:
– First of all, I want to say thank you for the support. Second, both teams battled extremely well. We needed to foul leading by three at the end of regulation, but we didn’t do it. The outcome probably would have been different. Plus, we made mistakes at the end that proved fatal and didn’t let us finish a possession. Nonetheless, the game was interesting. It’s sports. Avtodor won today.
Avtodor head coach Evgeny Pashutin:
– I want to congratulate my team. The guys played tough. In the first meeting, which PARMA won, the game was also decided on a single shot, so we expected it would be a tough game today. Our primary goal was to slow them down, since PARMA has a lot of quick players. Plus, everyone knows how tough it is to play in front of the Perm fans. But we scraped and clawed our way to a win. Games and finishes like this are why we play the game. They make our lives more exciting.
Up Next
PARMA: May 4 home vs. UNICS
Avtodor: May 5 home vs. Khimki
Images of the Game
