Nizhny Novgorod stopped Lokomotiv-Kuban at home – 96:93.
Top scorers
Nizhny Novgorod: Anton Astapkovich (18), Pavel Antipov (16), Brandon Brown (13 + 8 assists).
Lokomotiv-Kuban: Alan Williams (19 + 11 rebounds + 5 assists), Johnny O’Bryant (18), Mindaugas Kuzminskas (16 + 8 rebounds).
Story
Nizhny Novgorod (6-10) are fighting for the playoffs spot. They’ve met Loko (13-4) at the beginning of a challenging path: UNICS and Zenit are still ahead. Krasnodar had won 8 in a row before this game and were ranked 3rd. The guests led by Alan Williams and Will Cummings set the tempo of the first quarter (24:19). The things turned around in the second period. NN took the control after 4 consecutive three-pointers to make it 35:32 (three by Evgeny Baburin). Confidence of Alexey Chadov – who made his debut as a starting five – helped increase the lead. Loko after 14 turnovers in the first half (4 by NN) were trailing by 7 (42:49).
Nizhny survived Loko’s pressure in the third quarter thanks to shots made by Aleksandr Gankevich (8 points) and Anton Astapkovich which ensured their lead before the final quarter (78:71).
The intrigue was revived by Mindaugas Kuzminskas’ 10 points. The last minute of the regulation was marked by 90:86 for Nizhny after a free throw made by Sam Dekker.
❌ Иван Стребков на защите кольца @BC_NN!
❌ Ivan Strebkov protects the rim of Nizhny Novgorod with the BLOCK! pic.twitter.com/rASoQJPiGM
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) February 29, 2020
Key moment
After a timeout, Brandon Brown escaped the defense a sank a crucial mid-range shot (92:86). Johnny O’Bryant matched from beyond the arc, but the remaining 13 seconds meant intentional fouls by Loko. Nizhny were perfect on the line (4 of 4) to secure the victory 96:93.
NN climbed to 7th place. Loko’s longest winning streak is broken, but the reserve the 3rd place.
Hero
Anton Astapkovich. The hope of Nizhny’s offense. Astapkovich scored 18 points, mostly in the second half, plus 4 decisive free throws in a row at the last seconds.
Stat
48% field goals by Nizhny Novgorod. This stat was crucial even though they lost the rebounds (23-46).
Next
Nizhny Novgorod: March 7 vs UNICS
Lokomotiv-Kuban: March 9 vs CSKA
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