Pari NN beat Astana on the road – 90:62 (22:12, 31:21, 19:11, 18:18).
Game progress
The game started with Zach Nutall points. Then Markell Johnson scored Astana first points of the season, but Nizhny continued to build its advantage. By the middle of the quarter, the guests led 14:5, and Sergey Kozin team finished 10 minutes with a double-digit lead – 22-12.
In the second quarter, Nizhny Novgorod continued to dominate with Aubrey Dawkins 10 points in 3 minutes. Astana still had Johnson, who scored 16 points by halftime, but the rest of his teammates did not play their best. As a result, Nizhny led by 20 at the halftime – 53:33.
Key moment
The third quarter was the key. After the halftime, the guests were more active on defense, forcing the opponent to make a lot of mistakes. That led to only 11 points by the hosts in 10 minutes (the worst of the game), and Nizhny Novgorod led by 28 before the final quarter – 72:44. The fourth quarter turned into a formality.
X-factor
Good shooting percentage helped Pari NN to cope with Astana: 62.9% two-pointers and 46.2% three-pointers made by the guests versus 51.5% and 22.7% for the hosts.
Facts
With today’s win, Nizhny avenged its biggest loss of last season. Pari NN played its worst game of the previous VTB League season in Kazakhstan (61:92).
Nizhny started with a win for the 3rd season in a row, while Astana started with a loss for the third season in a row.
Pari NN newcomer Ilya Karpenkov became the oldest Russian player to make his VTB League debut this season. The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist is 27 years old. The center scored 4 points and 3 rebounds in 11 minutes.
2 Russian players (Grigory Motovilov, Danila Pokhodiaev) made their debut for Astana. Motovilov scored 10 points in 15 minutes, while Pokhodiaev had 2 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Andrey Desiatnikov was out of action. Since this season, Russians are not considered internationals in the Kazakh team.
Leaders
Astana: Markell Johnson (25 + 4 steals), T.J. Starks (12), Grigory Motovilov (10).
Pari NN: Zach Nutall (16 + 6 rebounds), Aubrey Dawkins (15), Aleksandr Khomenko (14), Aleksandr Chadov (10 + 5 rebounds), Nemanja Djurisic (10 + 7 rebounds)
What’s next
Astana: September 25 on the road versus Lokomotiv Kuban
Pari NN: September 25 at home against PARMA
