Zenit St. Petersburg defeated CSKA Moscow at home, 87-83 (22-22, 18-23, 23-22, 24-16).
Top Scorers
Zenit: Sergey Karasev (23 + 7 reb), Shayne Whittington (16), Evgeny Voronov (14 + 5 reb)
CSKA: Will Clyburn (17 + 12 reb), Nando De Colo (15), Kyle Hines (10 + 5 reb)
Story
Zenit dealt CSKA its second-consecutive loss in front of a sold-out Yubileyny in St. Petersburg, forcing six turnovers in the final five minutes to clinch victory.
The win scrambles the standings in the VTB United League, with CSKA dropping into a tie for 2nd with UNICS and only one game separating the top four clubs.
CSKA had only lost back-to-back games during the regular season once prior to today’s game, a two-game skid in February 2015 vs. Lokomotiv and Khimki.
But Zenit won the previous meeting between these teams in St. Petersburg, 90-77, last February and was fired up for another chance to beat the reigning champs at home.
The first half was a roller-coaster. After CSKA raced to a 15-2 lead in the first four minutes, Zenit responded with a 20-7 surge, tying the game at 22-22 to end the 1st quarter. The 2nd quarter featured four lead changes and three ties as the visitors entered halftime with a five-point edge, 45-40.
Sergey Karasev led the way for the Blue-White-Sky Blues in the second half, scoring 13 of his 23 points, including a clutch 3 that gave Zenit a two-possession lead with under two minutes to go.
Despite leading by as much as eight late in the 3rd quarter, CSKA’s offense faltered down the stretch, committing six turnovers in the final five minutes. On top by three, 77-74, with 5:36 to go, the Army Men only scored six points the rest of the way.
In addition to Karasev, Evgeny Voronov hit two vital baskets in the closing minutes to put the home team on top. The Russian guard finished with 14 points and five rebounds, continuing his hot play in January.
After Nando De Colo cut the deficit to two with under two minutes remaining, 83-81, Karasev and Whittington each split a pair of free throws, before Karasev sealed the victory with two more freebies with less than 30 seconds to play. Kyle Hines scored with time expiring, but it was too little too late, as Zenit secured a huge 87-83 victory in St. Petersburg.
Zenit improves to 9-2, one game behind 1st-place Lokomotiv. CSKA drops to 10-2.
Dunk of the Game
Who’s here? It’s @SKgetbuckets with a monster dunk in a fast break 💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/y9CDz9brhi
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) January 14, 2018
Stat
+13 – Despite outrebounding the home team 45-32, CSKA was unable to come up with a win.
Quotes
Zenit head coach Vasily Karasev:
– I want to thank the fans who sold out the Yubileyny. They played an important role in this win. I want to say thank you to the guys who believed in themselves and played the type of basketball and gave the type of effort they need to demonstrate every game.
CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis:
– It’s evident we played two different halves. In the first half, we controlled the tempo and only committed three turnovers. We did a good job on the glass and shooting from the perimeter. Zenit held on by hitting some tough shots. After the 3rd quarter, we were still leading, but overall it was a very poor second half. We committed 11 turnovers, even without much pressure from our opponent, with all due respect to Zenit’s defense. We only made two of eight 3-pointers. At the same time, our opponent only made three mistakes and won. Yes, we were missing some guards today, but we aren’t looking for excuses. What matters is who played, not who missed the game.
Up Next
Zenit: January 21 away vs. PARMA
CSKA: January 22 home vs. Nizhny Novgorod
Photos
