Lokomotiv Kuban beat MBA and won the 15th game of the season — 89:60 (29:18, 12:24, 29:5, 19:13).
Game progress
The first 2 games of the rivals this season ended with MBA wins. Loko wanted to take revenge in Moscow.
Loko took the lead at the start of the game. The American players helped the guests to make a 7:0 run. The hosts managed to equalise for a while. But the key moment of the first quarter was Jaylen Barford actions. Loko guard made 5 of 6 shots from the game in less than 4 minutes, scored 12 points and let Loko to make a double–digit lead – 29:18.
But MBA took control for the start of the second quarter. The Moscow team comeback began with Mark Tikhonenko three-pointer, Evgeny Voronov scored 7 points in a row. The hosts run ended with Andrey Lopatin made shot and MBA took the lead for the first time in the game – 30:29. Loko was able to stop the opponents. But the Moscow team still was up by 1 point – 42:41.
Key moment
The third quarter started with Loko domination. In less than 5 minutes, the hosts were able to score only 1 point, Vasily Karasev took 2 timeouts, and Loko regained a double-digit lead – 56:43.
But this time the guests did not stop. The Krasnodar team boosted the defense and shooters woke up finally. As a result, before the fourth quarter, Loko had a 23-point lead – 70:47. The guests confidently controlled the game and even increased the lead.
Key factor
Jaylen Barford once again proved to be Loko brightest player. He made 9 of 15 shots from the game (4 of 5 three-pointers) and became the best scoring player of the game (22 points). In 3 of the last 5 games, the guard scored exactly 22 points.
Fact
Loko ended the losing streak and continues to battle for the 4th place with Pari Nizhny Novgorod. MBA got the 5th lose in a row. In the last 9 games, the Moscow team were able to win only once.
Leaders
MBA: Daniil Kasatkin (15), Evgeny Voronov (12)
Lokomotiv Kuban: Jaylen Barford (22), DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell (18 + 5 rebounds), Chris Horton (16 + 6 rebounds)
Next games
MBA: road game versus Lokomotiv Kuban on March 3
Lokomotiv Kuban: home game against MBA on March 3
