By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
CSKA edged Nizhny Novgorod, 91-89, for a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series of the VTB United League Quarterfinals Sunday.
Serbian Nikola Milutinov scored a game-high 23 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, including an offensive rebound deciding Game 2. His side squandered a couple of double-digit leads before getting the job done in crunch time for the 11th win in a row.
Will Clyburn shared the game-high 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Alexey Shved threw in 17 more points. On the opposite end, Anton Astapkovich scored 18 points against his former team and Pavel Antipov ended up with 17 points.
The team based in Moscow is now one win away from reaching the Semifinals of the VTB Playoffs. Shifting from Russia’s capital to Nizhny Novgorod, Wednesday’s Game 3 marks the first series-clinching opportunity.
Baylor product Johnathan Motley drew up 23 points as Lokomotiv Kuban beat Parma PariBet, 100-84, and earned a 2-0 lead of its own. Jaylen Barford finished with 15 points. Veteran forward Valery Likhodey posted a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double for the visiting side at Krasnodar.
Elsewhere, Zenit Saint Petersburg and UNICS Kazan carry a 1-0 lead over Enisey Krasnoyarsk and Avtodor Saratov, respectively. The remaining Game 2 affairs will be played on Monday.
All four teams with the home-court advantage in the first round of the Playoffs were withdrawn from Euroleague Basketball competitions, Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup, in late March due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the war in Eastern Europe.
Photo Credit: VTB-League.com