By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
CSKA Moscow left behind a tough week with back-to-back defeats and got back on track with a 96-67 victory against Barcelona on the road for Round 11 of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
The Army Team regained some ground in the battle of the standings by improving to a 7-4 record, while Barcelona suffered its third defeat of the season.
CSKA made a statement in the second period to take control of the game and lead the course by 51-38 at halftime. The hosts were stunned in the third quarter and allowed their visitors to keep expanding their lead up to 26 points by the end (76-50 after a Darrun Hilliard three at the buzzer).
Team work makes dream work
“I wouldn’t say it was the most valuable win but it definitely looks good because we bounced back. We talked about the game and you asked me about the two losses we had in Spain. This was another tough game to approach but still, the mindset was there. I think that today, we really played team ball and involved everybody in the action. We hit some big shots, for sure, but that was made off our mindset. We played CSKA basketball and this is something we are looking for”, said Dimitris Itoudis following the game.
For CSKA, it took great teamwork throughout the game to reach the win. Mike James led five more scorers in double digits with 14 points, six assists, and four rebounds.
On the other end, Nikola Mirotic and Brandon Davies had the lion’s share of the work for Barcelona, finishing the game with 19 points each.
Photo: EuroLeague