Nizhny Novgorod defeated Zenit St. Petersburg at home, 100-90 (29-20, 31-22, 23-28, (17-20).
Top Scorers
Nizhny Novgorod: Stevan Jelovac (25 + 6 reb), Ivan Strebkov (24), Jake Odum (10)
Zenit: Kyle Kuric (23), Evgeny Voronov (20), Demonte Harper (17)
Story
After back-to-back losses put Nizhny at risk of missing the postseason, Zoran Lukic’s men responded with an emphatic 100-90 victory over Zenit. The win lifts Nizhny Novgorod into sole possession of 7th place with three games remaining on the schedule. Zenit falls to 14-6, tied for 4th place with Lokomotiv-Kuban.
Stevan Jelovac led the home team with 25 points and six rebounds, while Ivan Strebkov contributed a season-high 24. The home team was completely dominant for most of three quarters, leading by 18 at halftime and 22 with 12 minutes remaining in the game.
Zenit briefly threatened in the 4th, using a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to seven, 91-84, with three and a half minutes on the clock.
But Dmitry Uzinsky drained a huge 3-pointer for the home team, restoring a double-digit lead, and Nizhny never looked back.
With PARMA and VEF both losing earlier in the day, Nizhny picks up a one-game lead in the race for the postseason.
Zenit, on the other hand, is now tied with Lokomotiv-Kuban for 3rd place, but does not hold the tiebreaker. With less than a month to go in the regular season, the pressure on both teams will only increase.
Quotes
Nizhny Novgorod head coach Zoran Lukic:
– We had an excellent first half. It wasn’t as easy in the second half, because Zenit played much better. I understand. They did not want to lose third place in order to avoid playing CSKA for as long as possible. But we held on and won. We’ll give ourselves a little pat on the back for the win and keep moving forward. We are still bitter from the loss to Enisey. You have to admit: those were two very different teams between that game and today’s game.
Zenit head coach Vasily Karasev:
– We had a very poor start. We missed some shots, then couldn’t gets stops. Of course, Karasev’s absence because of foul trouble had an impact. Being forced to take him out had an impact on the offense. We had a chance to catch up at the end, but we needed to use our opportunities and score under the basket. Our execution, obviously, left something to be desired.
Up Next
Nizhny Novgorod: April 29 away vs. UNICS
Zenit: April 26 away vs. Enisey
Images of the Game
