CSKA Moscow defeated Nizhny Novgorod on the road, 104-90 (20-24, 32-21, 29-22, 23-23).
Top Scorers
Nizhny Novgorod: Maxim Grigoryev (16 + 6 ast), Petr Gubanov (15), Jake Odum (15 + 6 ast)
CSKA: Nando De Colo (21), Will Clyburn (17 + 9 reb), Andrey Vorontsevich (14), Cory Higgins (14)
Story
Playing in front of 2,500+ fans in the Nizhny Novgorod Sports Palace, CSKA began the game in a 24-15 hole, but quickly recovered, scoring 61 combined points in the 2nd and 3rd quarters to seize control and cruise to victory. The Army Men finished with 104 points, breaking the century mark for the 6th time this season and 4th in its last five games.
Nizhny Novgorod was led by Petr Gubanov’s eight points in the opening period, but failed to capitalize on its strong start, giving up a 23-5 run between the end of the 1st and beginning of the 2nd quarter.
Trailing by seven at halftime, Nizhny forward Vadim Panin pulled his team within two, courtesy of a 5-0 run, 54-52. Despite nine points from guard Maxim Grigoryev (who finished with a team-high 16) in the 3rd quarter, CSKA regained control with two 3-pointers from Sergio Rodriguez and steady free-throw shooting, entering the final period with an 81-67 lead.
The Army Men went on to win comfortably, notching their 19th victory of the season. Nizhny Novgorod falls to 7-12, stuck in a three-way tie for 7th place.
Quotes
Nizhny Novgorod head coach Zoran Lukic:
– Giving up 104 points is a lot. There were different reasons. I don’t have any major problems with my players. We competed and showed heart and desire. Unfortunately, we made too many mistakes, which we need to work on. There were some strategic mistakes that led to 12 easy CSKA points. Nonetheless, we showed we can play basketball and I hope our fans weren’t too upset with our loss today.
CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis:
– I want to congratulate my team on another win. We started very slow, especially on defense. But we woke up quickly, started competing and practically evened the score in the 1st quarter. That was the only quarter we lost. After restructuring our defense, we made the right decisions against Nizhny Novgorod’s key players. My players deserve a lot of credit for stopping Stevan Jelovac. We only allowed him seven points. During the remaining time, we kept battling, even though the game was very physical with a lot of fouls. I think we deserved to win.
Up Next
Nizhny Novgorod: April 15 home vs. Enisey
CSKA: April 11 away vs. Kalev
Images of the Game
