CSKA defeated Astana at home in Game 2 of the quarterfinals, 94-74 (22-16, 23-16, 25-19, 24-23).
Top Scorers
CSKA: Nando De Colo (15+4 stl), Aaron Jackson (11)
Astana: Rob Lowery (19+6 ast), Ousman Krubally (12), Ian Miller (12+5 ast)
Recap
CSKA shot 57% from the field and 12 players scored at least five points en route to a 94-74 win in Game 2.
Astana went 12-26 from beyond the arc, but 24 turnovers doomed the visitors in Moscow.
CSKA also outscored Astana 14-2 at the free-throw line. Leading by 13 at halftime, the reigning champions maintained control with frequent substitutions and pesky defense.
The Army Men now lead the series, 2-0, with Game 3 scheduled for Wednesday in Astana.
Star
Nando De Colo. The CSKA guard set the tone at both ends of the court, shooting 70% for 15 points to go with four steals. He also had three assists.
Stat
29 – Moscow dished out 29 assists, 10 more than the visitors. Astana hit shots on offense, but couldn’t solve CSKA’s exquisite ball movement.
Video
CSKA vs Astana Game 2 one minute highlights 📽 pic.twitter.com/vO5QuJlQU2
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) May 7, 2017
Quotes
CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis:
– Congratulations to the team on the win. We played better in many components compared to the first game. Now we lead the series 2-0 and will prepare to play Astana on the road, where our opponent will certainly give us a fight.
Astana head coach Ilias Papatheodorou:
– It’s tough for us to play two games in 48 hours against a team like CSKA. We don’t have a very long bench. We tried to play better on offense and create open shots. But it was very difficult to maintain the tempo set by CSKA. Our opponent fully deserved the win. Now we have three days to prepare for our home game, which could be the final one in the series.
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Up Next
Game 3: May 10 in Astana, 5:00 PM MSK
