CSKA beat Lokomotiv-Kuban at home – 94:80 (17:25, 31:23, 26:10, 20:22).
Top scorers
CSKA: Will Clyburn (22), Mike James (18 + 6 assists), Joel Bolomboy (7 + 9 rebounds + 6 blocks).
Lokomotiv-Kuban: Jordan Crawford (22 + 5 rebounds), Alan Williams (18 + 14 rebounds), Mindaugas Kuzminskas (12).
Story
Last week, CSKA lost to PARMA after 22-point lead in the fourth quarter. The goal of getting back to the winning track became harder after Semen Antonov, Nikola Milutinov and Janis Strelnieks tested presumptive positive for coronavirus and were isolated. Lokomotiv-Kuban came to Moscow withouth Mantas Kalnietis.
The first 5 minutes were equal – 13:13. Loko then applied pressure in the defense and started running away after Alan Williams’ and one. Grigory Motovilov joined the game well. Krasnodar made a 12:4 run to have +8 after 10 minutes (25:17). The second quarter started with CSKA’s substitutions: Will Clyburn, Daniel Hacket and Nikita Kurbanov needed a minue to erase the gap (23:25).
Evgeny Pashutin took a time out to bring the leaders back, but the Army club kept on dominating the floor with a 7-point lead after 3-pointers of Kurbanov and Darran Hilliard (36:29). Loko, however survived. Jordan Crawford’s 5 points in a row, plus team’s fast breaks helped them level the game – 48:48 in the halftime.
CSKA boosted the defense after the break. Loko started with missed shots and several turnovers, while CSKA led by Clyburn built a 8:0 run in 2 minutes (56:48). The guests neede more than 5 minutes to make the first field goal of the period. Moscow had reached double-digit lead by that time (60:49). Finally, Mike James boosted, scored threes and a challenged shot in a drive. Loko scored 10 in 10 minutes, while CSKA reached +16 lead (74:58).
Lokomotiv started the 4th quarter with a 8:0 run which gave them hope. CSKA woke up and stopped it. The struggle was intense with the distance of 8-10 points.
Key moment
3 minutes before the buzzer, Loko were trailing by 7 (74:81) and had chances to get into clutch. Crawford fired from the arc, but missed. Will Clyburn responded with a good 3-pointer. Later on, Will Cummings commited 5th foul and Clyburn made a dunk – 86:74. In the remaining time, the Red-blues controlled the game and won (94:80).
Hero
Will Clyburn. The forward was the winners’ top scorer (22 points) and sank crucial baskets in the fourth quarter.
Stat
6 blocks by Joel Bolomboy. This is his personal best, club’s record in United League and the second best result in the League.
Comment
CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis:
“We lacked three key players, we travelled long distance before the game, evening practices, uncertainty with the tests. All these didn’t help us at all. We’re living the period of uncertainty right now, I shudder everytime I get a message or a call. I feel like it’s the doctor with some bad news. We need time to build a team, work on different combinations of players. Of course, we lacked top level games in the offseason. Joel set a record for blocks today, I’m happy for him. He’s got a lot of basketball inside him. Sometimes, I’m hard with him, but at the same time I tell him that don’t coach players, but their potential. Congrats with a good win, with a stable game. Thanks to the fans who supported us today.”
Lokomotiv-Kuban head coach Evgeny Pashutin:
“We prepared the plan, we looked into the opponents’ tactis. CSKA is a famous club, leader, reigning champions with a huge roster. However, the last games show that you can outplay them with good defense and smart offense and tempo control. We prepared, and for 20 minutes, we followed the plan. But CSKA turned hard mode in the third quarter, pressed the ball, fight for it and we lost organization. They made us play one on one without screens, our basketball became uncoordinated. We have something to work on. We’ll analyze it and tackle the errors, and we’ll get better. Today’s result is fair.”
Next
CSKA: October 10 vs Avtodor
Lokomotiv-Kuban: October 11 vs Kalev
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