Lokomotiv Kuban defeated Pari Nizhny Novgorod at home – 101:86 (22:18, 35:17, 21:25, 23:26).
Game progress
Loko game with Nizhny Novgorod closed the year in the VTB League, and the Krasnodar team wanted to satisfy the fans at Basket Hall. The guests had active first quarter, but then the Krasnodar team offense pushed. Vladislav Emchenko and Antonius Cleveland gave the Krasnodar team a quick 12-point lead, and Karvel Anderson scored 4 three-pointers in a row in the next few minutes. At the end of the first half, Loko made a very solid advantage – 57:35.
Key moment
The Volga team didn’t give up. After winning the third quarter, Pari NN tried to make a comeback and were cut the deficit to 12 points. Last year, Nizhny managed to pull out a win in Krasnodar in a similar situation with an 11-0 run with a 1.5 minute left. But this time the Krasnodar team didn’t let to make a comeback – the hosts regained the lead and Cleveland made a slam and 100th point with a powerful dunk in the final minute.
X-factor
Loko bench is the best scoring in the League (47.2 points per game) and was one of the key factors in the win once again – Anderson, Emchenko and Cleveland made the key contribution to the Krasnodar team score difference in the second quarter. This time, Loko rotation even surpassed the average, scoring 55 points.
Facts
The Krasnodar team had the second 100+ game this season. The last time Loko was able reach that was at the very beginning of the regular season (127 points in September game against Astana).
After tonight’s gameday results, Uralmash surpassed Pari NN in the standings and moved up to 5th place. Loko caught up with UNICS in wins.
Aleksandr Chadov set new career-high 24 points in the VTB United League.
Leaders
Lokomotiv Kuban: Antonius Cleveland (19 + 5 assists), Karvel Anderson (14), Patrick Miller (12 + 8 assists), Kirill Temirov (11), B.J. Johnson (10), Anton Kvitkovskikh (9 + 5 rebounds).
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: Aleksandr Chadov (24 + 8 rebounds), Aleksandr Khomenko (16 + 6 assists).
What’s next
Lokomotiv Kuban: January 4 at home against PARMA.
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: January 5 on the road versus MBA-MAI.
