Lokomotiv Kuban defeated Pari Nizhny Novgorod on the road – 75:67 (16:20, 19:19, 22:14, 18:14).
Game progress
From the very first minutes, the game was tense. Ilya Karpenkov allowed Pari NN to take the lead. But already in the middle of the starting quarter the guests regained the lead – 8:4. However, the Volga team again managed to get back the control. Pari NN made a 9-point run, which gave comfortable lead – 25:16.
Throughout the second quarter, Nizhny Novgorod kept the lead. At one point, the hosts lead even became double-digit – 35:25. But the Krasnodar team was able to regain the confidence. Loko improved in defense, played better at the end of the quarter and cut the deficit to 4 points by halftime – 35:39.
Key moment
In the third quarter, Loko newcomer John Jenkins put the guests ahead – 51:49. The Krasnodar team never let it go. In the final quarter, the guests relied on tense contact. Loko put a lot of pressure on the opposing team players. In the end, the Krasnodar team had a 7-point lead – 70:63. It was a solid lead in such a tight game, where defense dominated over offense. The final minutes of the game were tense as the game, with more turnovers and missed shots than points scored. This allowed Loko to hold on the winning score.
X-factor
The Krasnodar team was better in rebounding. The guests was able to pick up a lot offensive rebounds (20-8) and made less turnovers (14-20), which provides Loko with 18 second chance possessions. That was one of the key factors in this game.
Facts
Loko grabbed 20 offensive rebounds in this game and updated season-high.
John Jenkins made his debut for Loko. The guard scored 9 points and 1 assist in 15 minutes.
Leaders
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: Aleksandr Chadov (16 + 5 rebounds), Ilya Karpenkov (12 + 6 rebounds).
Lokomotiv Kuban: Patrick Miller (13), Vladislav Emchenko (11), Tahjere McCall (10).
What’s next
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: March 29 on the road versus UNICS
Lokomotiv Kuban: March 29 on the road against Avtodor.
