Pari Nizhny Novgorod stopped the reigning champion at home and got the 15th win of the season — 79:72 (18:16, 23:23, 19:19, 18:12).
Game progress
Both teams had good results before the game: Zenit beat CSKA in the last round and Pari NN made a 9-point comeback in 1 minute and defeated Loko.
The very first minutes showed that the game is going to be equal. Zenit quickly replied to th hosts mini-run. At the beginning of the second quarter, Zenit rotation took the lead, and after Caleb Homesley three-pointer and-one, the St. Petersburg team had a 8-point game – 29:21. But Jermaine Love gave dynamics to the hosts offense and by the end of the first half, Dragan Apic – Nikola Rebic duo again returned the lead to Nizhny Novgorod — 41:39.
The start of the second half was equal. Homesley and Thomas Heurtel responded to Maksim Salash performance,who scored 7 points at the start of the third quarter. But the quarter still remained for the hosts: Dmitrii Khvostov supported Salash, and the hosts had the lead before the fourth quarter — 60:58.
Key moment
An equal game at the beginning of the fourth quarter set the fans up for the possibility of overtime. But the hosts decided not to delay the regulation. Jermaine Love three-pointer and Baburin steal set Zenit in an uncomfortable position – 69:63. This difference looked solid. Xavier Pascual team offense could not find free shots in any way.
After Maksim Salash made shot, Zenit coach urgently took a timeout, but it did not help — in the next possession Dragan Apic scored dunks, bringing the lead to double digit for the first time — 76:65. The remaining time was not enough for the St. Petersburg team to make a comeback. Pari Nizhny Novgorod gets the second game in a row and takes revenge for 2 losses this season.
Key factor
Maksim Salash played his best game for Pari Nizhny Novgorod: his 10 points in the third quarter did not allow Zenit to took the lead. Only 1 point was not enough for the Belarusian forward career-high (26 points) – in 2020, Salash played Tsmoki-Minsk. And he made 13 rebounds and 4 steals — Salash still repeated.
Fact
Pari Nizhny Novgorod can already be safely called a serious threat for the grandees. At the second stage of the regular season, the Volga team has already beaten MBA, Loko, Zenit, lost by 1 point to UNICS and fought 3 quarters with CSKA.
Leaders
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: Maksim Salash (25 + 13 rebounds + 4 steals), Dragan Apic (19 + 9 rebounds), Dmitrii Khvostov (13)
Zenit: Caleb Homesley (20 + 5 rebounds), Trent Frazier (18)
Next games
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: road game against Zenit on March 2.
Zenit: road game versus UNICS on February 26.
