By Stefan Djordjevic / sdjordjevic@eurohoops.net
CSKA Moscow put on a strong performance and held off Real Madrid‘s comeback to secure a 96-89 road win in Round 30 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Will Clyburn led the charge with 23 points while Mike James was right behind with 22 as they shot 4-6 from deep each. Johannes Voigtmann was also instrumental in the win with 18 points and nine boards, especially due to his eight points early in the fourth quarter to hold off Madrid’s comeback.
“I feel good about it. I am just happy to be back with the team. Obviously, being injured is never easy but I am just happy to be back with the team. I hope we can play like that all the time,” Clyburn said.
Tornike Shengelia added 14 while for Real Madrid, Trey Thompkins scored 20 in addition to Jaycee Carroll’s 17 and Fabien Causeur’s 14 points. Gabriel Deck and Walter Tavares had 12 each with the latter also grabbing 13 rebounds.
Clyburn and James were unstoppable for the Whites in the first half as they combined for 32 points and pushed CSKA to a 55-41 lead at the break which was the biggest halftime deficit for Real Madrid at home since Pablo Laso took over the team.
They trailed by as much as 20 points (63-43) later on and although Carroll and Causeur sparked a couple of comebacks and the team managed to cut the deficit to just five points (90-85) Voigtmann, James and Clyburn stepped up when it was necessary to keep CSKA ahead for the win.
Coach Dimitris Itoudis was well aware of the threat posed by Carroll and it was one of the things he warned his squad about.
“We talked at halftime that now is the time for Carroll, because we had been scouting that Carroll gets in in the second half, especially when they have a problem. Carroll has been giving a lot, but today, he really had an amazing performance, 17 points. He tried to break our celebration, but I think we were composed in the end, playing small ball, playing some matchups and hitting big shots. I think we also had our moments in our offense, trying to take Tavares out of the paint as much as possible,” he said and congratulated his team.
“We were struggling lately and that’s a good, I hope, turning point for us. Congratulations to my team, congratulations to the players, and good luck to Madrid.”
CSKA improved to 19-10, the same record as Anadolu Efes and Olimpia Milano with all three chasing behind the first-placed Barcelona (21-8). Real Madrid now holds a 17-13 record and is still in the playoff zone, currently at the seventh spot.
Photo Credit: Turkish Airlines EuroLeague