Nizhny Novgorod defeated Astana at home, 76-72 (12-19, 13-15, 21-15, 30-23).
Top Scorers
Nizhny Novgorod: Kenny Boynton (17+9 ast), Dijon Thompson (15), Petr Gubanov (15+8 reb)
Astana: Rob Lowery (20+7 reb), Ousman Krubally (11+9 reb) Ian Miller (11)
Turning Point
In order to catch Astana and squeeze into the final playoff spot, Nizhny Novgorod needed to win by at least 10 points. The visitors, however, had other plans. Astana came out hot from the three-point line, forcing the home team to play catch-up most of the game.
Nizhny Novgorod finally got back into the contest in the final minutes, tying the game at 66-66 on a Simm-Sander Vene 3-pointer. Kenny Boynton and Dijon Thompson also played a big role in the comeback as Nizhny desperately tried to salvage its season.
The two teams traded baskets the rest of the way. Petr Gubanov and Kenny Boynton put Nizhny ahead, before Rob Lowery was able to bring Astana back, draining a huge 3-pointer with 20 seconds on the clock that put the visitors on top by one.
Needing a bucket, Tomislav Zubcic gave Nizhny the lead and ultimately the win with a ‘3’, but it wasn’t enough to save the home team’s playoff hopes as the Russians came up six points shy of the tiebreaker.
Nizhny is eliminated, but Astana still has work to do after Avtodor defeated Parma to preserve its hopes of catching the Kazakh club.
Stat
4 points – Nizhny Novgord won, but not by enough, after Astana earned a nine-point victory at home earlier in the season.
Quotes
Nizhny Novgorod head coach Arturs Stalbergs:
– As strange as it may sound, this was a very upsetting win. We came up short by five points, and this situation really illustrates our entire season. We were close so many times and almost won, but came up a little short in the end. Every little detail matters in basketball. We gained some unpleasant experience: We didn’t make the playoffs, once again finishing on the edge in 9th place. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the result we wanted and did not meet our goals in the VTB League.
Astana head coach Ilias Papatheodorou:
– First of all, I want to say that this was a very physical game today, given its significance to both teams. We started really well. We completely controlled the game and broke down Nizhny’s plan on offense. We intended to keep it up in the second half, but we knew our opponent would try to fight back. Unfortunately, our leaders got in foul trouble in the final minutes, which is why we had little space to operate. Plus, Nizhny began to play better defense. We really wanted to avoid overtime, because a loss wasn’t the worst outcome in this situation. Now we are closer than ever to the postseason. My team deserves it this season.
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Up Next
Nizhny Novgorod: April 16 at Tsmoki-Minsk
Astana: April 13 at UNICS
