CSKA defeated Lokomotiv-Kuban at home, 83-77 (19-20, 19-18, 19-13, 26-26).
Top Scorers
CSKA: Nando De Colo (21), Andrey Vorontsevich (14), Aaron Jackson (11+5 ast), Viktor Khryapa (11)
Lokomotiv-Kuban: Mardy Collins (17), Andrey Zubkov (16), Matt Janning (10+5 ast)
Intro
Two months ago, Lokomotiv-Kuban took down CSKA in Krasnodar, the Army Men’s first regular-season defeat. Coupled with Thursday’s setback in St. Petersburg, CSKA was hungry for revenge in Moscow.
Lokomotiv-Kuban, meanwhile, put its 13-game winning streak on the line, knowing that one more win meant 1st place in the standings and the inside track to the top seed in the playoffs.
Trailing 12-8 in the opening period, CSKA’s Nando De Colo converted an and-one, then Nikita Kurbanov threw down an alley-oop slam on the fast break, giving CSKA the 13-12 advantage.
Play I
That set the tone for the opening half, which featured five ties and six lead changes.
Even an eight-point lead for the visitors, 33-25, was quickly erased behind back-to-back 3-pointers from Aaron Jackson and seven clutch points by Viktor Khryapa.
The Russian forward closed the half in the style, throwing down on Loko defender Vladimir Ivlev to knot the score at 38-38.
Play II
Turning Point
After trailing much of the 2nd quarter, the Army Men turned up the defensive pressure in the 3rd.
The home team limited Lokomotiv to 13 points, closing the period on an 11-3 run.
Nando De Colo and Andrey Vorontsevich, CSKA’s two leading scorers in the game, did all the damage, scoring the final 11 points.
Up 57-51 with 10 minutes remaining, Vorontsevich and De Colo continued to terrorize Loko’s defense in the 4th. Vorontsevich’s 3-pointers with 5:55 to play made it an 11-point game, 70-59.
Loko would not quit. Between scrappy playmaking from Mardy Collins and steady free-throw shooting, the visitors clawed to within three, 74-71, with 1:33 to go.
But De Colo and Vorontsevich wouldn’t let CSKA lose. After De Colo hit two freebies, Vorontsevich connected on one more 3-pointer, stretching the lead back to eight, 79-71.
The Army Men went on to win, 83-77, improving to 15-2, a game and a half clear of Lokomotiv-Kuban and Zenit.
Stat
119 – number of days since Lokomotiv last lost in the VTB United League.
Quotes
CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis:
– This was a tough game against a very good opponent. We were solid today, especially on defense. We managed to force 17 Lokomotiv turnovers, even though our opponent has very good point guards. Those mistakes were a result of our aggressiveness. Congrats to the playes on another win in a very competitive League. Thank you to the fans who came to support us today.
Lokomotiv-Kuban head coach Sasa Obradovic:
– Congratulations to CSKA. They deserved this win. We played well and had chances to win. I wasn’t happy about the turnovers, which is why we got out of rhythm in the 3rd quarter. In the end, we shouldn’t be too upset. We had good stretches and should take advantage in the future.
We were playing against champions who always know how to take advantage in various situations. They showed that in the 3rd quarter. It sounds like a simple explanation, but we got a little reliant on going one-on-one and didn’t create good shots. Sometimes it depends on you. Sometimes other guys are simply more athletic and have a higher basketball IQ.
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Up Next
CSKA: February 26 vs. UNICS
Lokomotiv-Kuban: February 24 vs. Khimki
