By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
CSKA Moscow defended its homecourt against feisty Zalgiris and grabbed an 85-82 victory in overtime for Round 12 of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague to improve to an 8-4 record.
Mike James had the final say in a game of many ups and downs. His game-winning three-pointer handed the Russian team the victory with James taking over the game in the closing minutes.
“[Coach ] and my teammates told me to keep being aggressive. I wanted to get a good shot off, get one of the shots I normally shoot, and it went in”, he said after the game, in which he also missed the chance to win it in regulation.
James exited the court with 19 points, while Janis Strelnieks followed his lead with 18 points.
The battle between the two teams turned out to be tough right from the first period, as Zalgiris led 17-9. CSKA bounced back in the second one and managed to slip away with a one-point lead (32-31) at halftime.
The Army team held a short lead by the end of the third (51-50) and even managed to expand its advantage halfway through the final quarter, though Zalgiris evened the score at 64 points with three minutes to go. After multiple ties, the game went to the extra five-minute period with CSKA grabbing this narrow but important victory.
“Congratulations to my team because we were composed. We had our moments and our lapses. I think we could have brought it smoother to the end, but Zalgiris is a tough team”, mentioned CSKA coach Dimitris Itoudis at the end of the game.
“It’s was another EuroLeague kind-of-final game”
As Itoudis explained: “Overall, I think that the game could have gone either way. I also have to congratulate Zalgiris. They played a good game. They always fight, have character and play physical basketball. That’s it – another EuroLeague kind-of-final game. When we have only played a third of the regular season, all games and tough games”.
On the other hand, Zalgiris coach Sarunas Jasikevicius added: “Congratulations to CSKA. I think it was a pretty good game for us. We had opportunities to win and didn’t take advantage of some things. I think we are still giving up too many points in our details, but in general, I think we played a good basketball today, and I am really proud of my guys.”
Zalgiris fought hard but didn’t manage to slip away with a victory in Moscow, with its current record being 3-9.
Photo: EuroLeague