By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Τhe verdict of this Russian battle for the playoffs turned into CSKA Moscow‘s favor, as they prevailed over Khimki Moscow Region 98-95 in Game 1 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague playoffs.
Sergio Rodriguez was the enchanted hero of his team, with 22 points, five assists and two rebounds, along with Othello Hunter who was two rebounds shy from a double-double, with 18 points and a new index rating high of 28.
With a few seconds left, James Anderson reduced the margin to two points, giving Khimki hope, though the game was finally decided by a foul of Anthony Gill on Rodriguez, as the Spanish star made one out of his two free throws, leaving no choice to Khimki but surrender. Notably, CSKA recorded 37 successful FTs, the second best in the playoffs behind Panathinaikos‘ 41 in 2005 (vs. Efes).
CSKA’s defense was all over the place in the first period, allowing their opponents to score 34 points. This amount ties the most points allowed by the team in a single quarter (34 vs. Maccabi in the 2016-17 season), which as it showed didn’t have a negative impact on their game.
Adding to that came Nando De Colo’s injury in the second period, which didn’t allow him to return to the game. Further evaluation on his condition is expected.
The winners also managed to overshadow Egor Vyaltsev’s new career-high of 21 points (his previous one was 13 against the Army team again).