Nizhny Novgorod Russia defeated Astana Kazakhstan at home, 79-78 (24-24, 17-16, 17-17, 21-21).
Top Scorers
Nizhny Novgorod: Jake Odum (15), Stevan Jelovac (15 + 5 reb), Vladimir Veremeenko (12 + 7 reb), Artem Komolov (11)
Astana: Larry Gordon (17), Justin Carter (15 + 6 reb), Anthony Clemmons (15)
Story
Artem Komolov stunned visiting Astana on Sunday evening, draining a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift Nizhny Novgorod to a huge 79-78 win.
The visitors led by five with under 30 seconds remaining, but Ivan Strebkov’s triple and a turnover on the ensuing inbounds play gave Nizhny a chance to score the upset. Komolov delivered, throwing up a prayer as time expired over the outstretched arms of the Astana defense.
The game was remarkably competitive from start to finish, featuring 13 lead changes and nine ties. The largest lead for either team was eight, including an early edge for Nizhny in the 2nd quarter. Astana fought back to take the lead late in the period and only trailed by a point at halftime, 41-40.
Komolov, who finished with 11 points, knocked down a pair of triples early in the 3rd quarter to push Nizhny’s advantage back to eight. But Astana responded with an 11-0 run and neither team ever led by more than five the rest of the way.
Up 72-71 with a minute to go, Astana scored four straight points to seize control. Larry Gordon drained a jumper and Leonidas Kaselakis went 2-2 at the line.
Down five with less than 30 seconds remaining, Jake Odum missed a 3-pointer for Nizhny, but Komolov scooped up the rebound and dished to Strebkov, who connected from beyond the arc to keep the home team’s hopes alive. After Astana lost possession on the inbounds play, Komolov took over, knocking down one of the most dramatic shots of the season in a must-win game for the Russian club.
With the victory, Nizhny Novgorod moves back into 9th place, trailing Astana and Tsmoki-Minsk on winning percentage for one of the final two playoff spots. Astana has a three-game winning streak snapped, but remains in position for a postseason berth.
Magic Moment
Stat
32% – Despite shooting only 9-28 from beyond the arc, Nizhny made them when they counted, including Stevan Jelovac’s buzzer-beater to end the 3rd quarter and the heroics from Strebkov and Komolov in the final seconds.
Quotes
Nizhny Novgorod head coach Zoran Lukic:
– I want to congratulate Astana on a good game. It’s no accident they had won four of five coming into today’s game. I understand very well what Mikhail Karpenko is feeling right now after that 3-pointer at the buzzer. We’ve been in that situation several times already this season. I don’t think it’s luck. I think we earned after those two-three point losses to great teams. Now we need to sit down and discuss why we didn’t have more urgency in this game. Every game from now until the end of the season will have an impact on the playoff chase. We can’t lose focus or not respect our opponent. Today’s win was back-breaking, that’s how I’d put it!
Astana head coach Mikhail Karpenko:
– You saw everything yourselves. The game was very even. Nizhny’s biggest lead was eight and ours was five. Both teams were continually regaining the lead. We trailed by one point in the first half. In the second half, both quarters ended in a tie, and that point proved decisive. We did a decent job against our opponent after halftime, but didn’t grab an offensive rebound when we needed it most and Nizhny hit the first three. Then we made a fatal mistake inbounding the ball after a timeout. To lead by five with 20+ seconds remaining and give up two 3-pointers–that’s painful and unpleasant. I think we will learn from this loss and become stronger. Games like this test a team.
Up Next
Nizhny Novgorod: March 25 away vs. Tsmoki-Minsk
Astana: March 25 home vs. PARMA
Images of the Game
