Pari Nizhny Novgorod beat Astana in the regular season game – 80:60 (28:16, 22:9, 16:19, 14:16).
The best scorers
Astana: Michael Myers (17 + 6 rebounds), Valery Likhodey (8), Dmitry Gavrilov (7 + 6 rebounds)
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: Ivan Strebkov (20), Nikola Jovanovic (18 + 8 rebounds), Jermaine Love (15), Maxim Salash (11)
Game progress
Both teams aimed to rehabilitate in front of the fans for major losses in recent games. Astana lost with by 55 in Kazan, Pari Nizhny Novgorod lost to the League newcomer Samara — 52:90.
The Volga team from the first minutes showed the serious motivation, but Astana managed to stay in the rhythm for some time because of Michael Myers. The guests still managed to lead in the first quarter. Nikola Jovanovic, who came off the bench, increased the pressure in the paint and after 12:2 run, Pari Nizhny got a double-digit lead.
Astana in the second quarter tried to catch up the guests with the three-pointers, but the Kazakh team did not succeed in the best way: only 2 of 13 three-pointers were made. Nizhny Novgorod relied on fast breaks and transitions, perfectly implementing the game plan in practice – NN lead was growing rapidly. Ivan Strebkov scored 16 points in the first half with 8 out of 11 from the game, Pari NN scored 67.9% of 2-points, more than twice beat Astana in rebounds and assists. By the halftime, the difference was an impressive 25 points – 50:25.
In the third quarter, Astana revived by Valery Likhodey and leveled the game. The club from Kazakhstan even managed to win the quarter by 3 points, but bad first half in this situation left almost no chance for the hosts to save. Pari Nizhny started the fourth quarter with a 5:0 run and kept the opponent at a comfortable distance until the end of the game.
Zoran Lukic team ended loosing streak and again has a positive balance in the standings (3-2), Pari NN won all the games on the road. Astana had the fourth loss (1-4).
Hero
Ivan Strebkov. The effective anctions of the guard allowed Pari Nizhny to create a decisive lead already in the first half. Strebkov scored 20 points and 3 rebounds with 10 out of 15 from the game.
Numbers
6 – Pari Nizhny extended the winning streak in Kazakhstan. The last time Astana beat the Volga Region team at home was in January 2017.
What’s next
Astana: road game versus Samara on October 27
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: home game against Lokomotiv Kuban on October 27
