Fifty at halves

CSKA vs. Nizhniy Novgorod: 83-75 (+8)

CSKA: De Colo (27 + 9 rb + 5 as), Teodosic (23 + 4 as + 3 st + 4 to), Nichols (4 rb), Jackson (2), Weems (9 + 4 rb), Kaun (13 + 4 rb), Hines (7 + 5 rb), Kirilenko (2 + 3 rb)…

Nizhniy Novgorod: Viktorov (2), Mekel (4 + 3 to), Parakhovskiy (6 + 7 rb + 4 pf), Antonov (4 + 3 rb), Kinsey (21 + 6 rb), Rochestie (16 + 9 as), Kuksiks (6), Tompkins (16 + 7 rb)…

We played back-to-back important and emotional games. We had a slow start today which is inexcusable against this kind of quality opponent. In the second quarter we defended well, almost like in the fourth quarter of Olympiakos game. We experienced problems in the third quarter, Nizhny players were hot, they scored from a perimeter, they made free throws. We had various types of offense: Sasha Kaun gave us a lot inside in the beginning, then we went to our shooters. It was quite difficult to guard Tompkins who is more of a pop man. We used several defenses – zone, matchup and switches. In the last quarter we defended well though we gave up some open looks, and the opponents missed. Now we came a step closer to taking the first place in the regular season which gives home-court advantage throughout playoffs. Our next mission is the trip to Milan and Minsk.