CSKA defeated Astana at home, 81-63 (17-13, 19-17, 18-16, 27-17).
Top Scorers
CSKA: Nando De Colo (18), Cory Higgins (10), Nikita Kurbanov (7+7 reb)
Astana: Ousman Krubally (12), Rod Odom (11), Dimitrios Katsivelis (10), Rob Lowery (10+6 stl)
Turning Point
Despite entering as heavy underdogs, Astana kept this game close for three quarters.
Stingy defense (the visitors kept CSKA to 54 points in the first 30 minutes) helped Astana cut the deficit to six, 54-48, early in the 4th quarter.
But CSKA couldn’t be stopped. Led by Nando De Colo’s 18 points in the first three periods, the Army Men got balanced scoring over the final 10 minutes to seal the win.
Nikita Kurbanov scored all seven of his points to help push the lead to 14, 68-54. After Ian Miller scored on a layup for Astana, Aaron Jackson erased any lingering doubt, knocking down a ‘3’ on a Kurbanov assist, then driving to the basket for a layup on the following possession. CSKA 73, Astana 56.
The home team went on to win by 18, improving to 13-1. Astana drops to 6-8, half a game up on 8th-place Enisey.
Stat
19 – Astana was able to force 19 CSKA turnovers, including six steals by Rob Lowery. Unfortunately for the visitors, they ran out of steam in the final quarter, giving up 27 points.
Quotes
CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis:
– Congratulations to the team on a win over a very serious opponent. Astana is playing very good basketball this season. They have a clear game plan, athleticism and know how to use their big men. They’re contending for a playoff spot and competed hard with us today. We played well on defense, which has been the case for several games. We’re trying to pay attention to the details. We could have done better on offense, but we did miss a lot of open looks. We created good opportunities to attack and I can only applaud my players. Unfortunately, the ball wasn’t going in today for guys like Vitaly, Nando, Dima and Andrey. Plus, we only took seven free throws in a very competitive game. Nonetheless, it’s great to win our third game in six days.
Astana head coach Ilias Papatheodorou:
– Congratulations to CSKA. We tried to stay focused the entire game, but CSKA has been the best team in Europe for 10 years. The Army Men don’t just have great players, they also have great chemistry. We had some decent moments today, but we couldn’t match CSKA’s tempo the entire game.
Play
