Astana beat Avtodor at home – 70:69 (21:19, 12:23, 19:20, 18:7).
The best scorers
Astana: Daniil Aksenov (24 + 5 assists), Markell Johnson (14), Michael Myers (6 + 12 rebounds).
Avtodor: Malik Newman (19), Nikita Mikhailovskii (12 + 7 rebounds), Danilo Nikolic (12 + 6 rebounds), Scott Machado (11 + 5 rebounds).
Game progress
Astana had 1 win in 13 games before the game. Avtodor became better after Darko Russo appointment, but in the last 4 games only 3 wins and the 8th place. The injured Brandon Garrett, Ryan Boatwright and Evgeniy Kolesnikov, Rade Zagorac and Vitalijus Pranauskis were absent.
The first quarter started with the hosts slight advantage. Astana could not score threes, but Markell Johnson and the team did not have problems with two-pointers. Avtodor was trying to find their game in unusual combinations, staying in the opponent rhythm.
In the second quarter, the Volga team took the lead. Avtodor started with a 7:0 run in 3 minutes, which was backed up by 2 three-pointers by Malik Newman and generally good teamwork in defense. Astana still cannot score threes. The guests won the qyarter 23:12 and had a 9-point lead before the halftime.
After the halftime, the game scenario has not changed at all. Despite Daniil Aksenov performance, Avtodor with Newman and Mikhailovskii help controlled the game and safed the lead – 62:52.
Avtodor, who had 6 players in rotation, began to give up in the fourth quarter. In 6 minutes, the Saratov team scored only 2 points, and Aksenov scored twice from and caught courage, which helped Astana to get a chance to win in the end.
The key moment
The last minutes were dramatic. Avtodor took the lead again after Aksenov missed free-throws and Danilo Nikolic three-pointer. Then Maxim Marchuk and Johnson made 2 dunks – 70:69. The dunk by the American guard with 1.5 minutes before the end will definitely get into the Top Plays. Also it could be considered as the winning shot.
In the remaining time, the opponents exchanged mistakes. Astana made a tunrover, did not have time to make a shot in 24 seconds and also missed 3 free-throws in a row. Avtodor responded with 2 turnovers and Newman offensive foul in the last seconds, but pushed the opponent. This allowed the Kazakh club to end the 10-gameslosing streak and upset its former head coach.
Hero
Daniil Aksenov. The Russian guard made shots allowed Astana to make a major comeback and eventually gets the win. The guard has 24 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists.
Numbers
15 points were Avtodor maximum lead.
What’s next
Astana: road game against PARMA-PARI on December 17.
Avtodor: home game versus Zenit on December 18 .
