2019-20Regular SeasonRound 12
CSKA Moscow 85
Zalgiris Kaunas 82
December 05, 2019 CET: 18:00
Local time: 20:00 MEGASPORT ARENA

James's game-winner lifts CSKA to OT win

Mike James drilled a game-winning three-pointer on the overtime buzzer to lift CSKA Moscow over Zalgiris Kaunas 85-82 in the Russian capital on Thursday. CSKA improved to 8-4 in the standings while Zalgiris dropped to 3-9 with its sixth consecutive loss. James finished with 19 points, Janis Strelnieks added 18, Ron Baker scored 13, Joel Bolomboy 12 and Daniel Hackett had 11 for CSKA. Thomas Walkup led Zalgiris with 19 points, Lukas Lekavicius tallied 15, Jock Landale 12 and Zach LeDay 11. Landale added 11 rebounds for a double-double. A floater by Lekavicius tied the game at 69-69 and James missed a mid-range shot at the end of regulation, sending the game to overtime. Landale gave Zalgiris a 75-76 lead with 1:15 left but James had 10 points in the final 63 seconds, including the game-winning shot at the buzzer.

Strelnieks got CSKA going with a driving layup which LeDay quickly erased with a turnaround jumper. Hackett stepped up for CSKA only to see Walkup score twice in penetration. LeDay added a couple of jump hooks and Martinas Geben dunked in a 0-15 run that gave Zalgiris a double-digit lead, 6-17. Andrey Vorontsevich stepped up with a corner jumper and Bolomboy brought CSKA a bit closer, 9-17, after 10 minutes. James and Darrun Hilliard rescued the hosts early in the second quarter, but Landale followed a layup with a jump hook to keep Zalgiris in charge, 15-21. Nigel Hayes took over with a second-chance basket, which Walkup followed with a driving layup that caused CSKA to stop the game at 15-25. Landale capped an 0-8 run with a fastbreak layup. Strelnieks bettered that with a three-point play. Hines dunked and got help from Strelnieks and Baker to bring CSKA within 25-29. Strelnieks kept pushing the hosts with layups and Baker struck from downtown - CSKA's first three-pointer of the game - to give his team a 32-31 lead at halftime.

Edgaras Ulanovas banked in a running shot soon after the break, but Hines matched it with a big slam and Strelnieks added a jumper for a 36-33 CSKA edge. Landale and Bolomboy exchanged dunks in traffic and then Strelnieks and Baker each buried a three-pointer to boost the hosts' lead to 44-37. Lekavicius followed a floater with a jumper and then found Milaknis for a triple that drew Zalgiris within 46-44. Nikita Kurbanov answered from beyond the arc, but Geben and a red-hot Milaknis brought the visitors even closer, 51-50, after 30 minutes. Bolomboy ignited the crowd early in the fourth quarter with an alley-oop dunk and a three-pointer. Baker added a reverse layup for a 58-52 CSKA lead with over 6 minutes left in regulation. Walkup took over with back-to-back triples, but Hackett also struck twice from beyond the arc for a 64-60 score. Lekavicius followed free throws with a jumper that tied it again, 64-64, with 2:31 to go. Baker and Walkup traded three-pointers before James restored a narrow CSKA lead with a minute left in regulation. Lekavicius buried his trademark floater to even things at 69-69 and CSKA got the ball back with 14.3 seconds remaining. James missed a five-meter shot at the end of regulation.

Hines dunked early in overtime and Bolomboy added a baseline jumper for a 73-71 CSKA lead. Nigel Hayes banked in a three-pointer, but Strelnieks answered with a layup to give the hosts the lead in the next-to-last minute. Landale hit free throws and Lekavicius added a jumper, but an outstanding James followed a driving layup with a three-point play for an 80-78 edge. After LeDay hit free throws, James hit a jumper that bounced three times around the rim and went in with 12.4 seconds left. Walkup tried a floater, which Bolomboy blocked on its way down, allowing Zalgiris to tie it at 82-82, with 4.7 seconds left. And then James came through again with the game-winner.

Pivotal performer

James stepped up big in the final 2 minutes of overtime to singlehandedly win the game for CSKA, swishing the game-winning shot right at the buzzer. He finished the game with 19 points off the bench, hitting 8 of 9 free throws and adding 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 7 fouls drawn for a PIR of 18. Most important, he delivered when his team needed him most, showing great leadership.

Game-changing moment

Free throws by Landale gave Zalgiris a 75-76 lead and this is when the James show began. First, he scored in penetration. Then he bettered Lekavicius's jumper with a wild three-point play. With the game tied at 80-80, he downed a jumper that hit the rim three times before it went in. And at 82-82 and 4.7 seconds left, he took matters into his own hands and buried the game-winning triple.

Stellar stat

Zalgiris finished the game with 48 rebounds, one shy of its club-record - 49, accomplished three times - and tied the second-best mark in the EuroLeague this season. It wasn't enough, however, as turnovers had a bigger impact on the outcome of the game. CSKA only had 8 turnovers and forced Zalgiris into 15.

Did you notice?

Zalgiris limited CSKA to just 9 points in the opening quarter. In 19 seasons and over 200 games in the Russian capital, CSKA only had a single-digit first quarter at home once before; it scored 9 points against JSF Nanterre (9-14 after 10 minutes) on November 21, 2013.

Next game

Both teams return to EuroLeague action next week. CSKA visits Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv on Thursday, December 12. It is a rematch of the 2006 and 2008 championship games, which CSKA won. Maccabi center Othello Hunter will play against his former team, too. Zalgiris hosts Valencia Basket, featuring former forward Brock Motum, on Friday.

Mike James celebrates - CSKA Moscow - EB19
Thursday, December 5, 2019
Euroleague.net
Referees: RADOVIC, SRETEN; PEREZ, EMILIO; OBRKNEZEVIC, UROS
Attendance: 6114
By Quarter1234Extra 1
CSKA Moscow923191816
Zalgiris Kaunas1714191913
End of Quarter1234Extra 1
CSKA Moscow932516985
Zalgiris Kaunas1731506982
CSKA Moscow
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
3 BOLOMBOY, JOEL 32:36 12 4/4 1/5 1/2 1 5 6 1   1 1   3 2 13
5 JAMES, MIKE 26:06 19 4/9 1/4 8/9 1 2 3 2       1 3 7 18
11 ANTONOV, SEMEN 0:35                              
13 STRELNIEKS, JANIS 30:48 18 7/9 1/4 1/1   1 1 4   1     2 2 17
17 VOIGTMANN, JOHANNES 15:05   0/2       3 3 1 2           4
20 VORONTSEVICH, ANDREY 6:31 2 1/1 0/2             1     3   -4
23 HACKETT, DANIEL 27:53 11 1/2 2/5 3/4   3 3 6 3 3     4 3 14
31 KOUFOS, KOSTA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
32 HILLIARD, DARRUN 6:49 1   0/1 1/2   1 1 1   1     1 1  
41 KURBANOV, NIKITA 10:59 3 0/3 1/1     2 2         1 3 1 -1
42 HINES, KYLE 34:55 6 3/8   0/2 2 3 5     1 3   3 3 6
84 BAKER, RON 32:43 13 2/3 3/5     3 3   1   1   2 1 14
Team           1 2 3               3
Totals 225:00 85 22/41 9/27 14/20 5 25 30 15 6 8 5 2 24 20 84
        53.7% 33.3% 70%
Head coach: ITOUDIS, DIMITRIS
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
Zalgiris Kaunas
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 WALKUP, THOMAS 36:01 19 5/10 3/4   1 6 7 6   7     3 6 22
1 RIVERS, KC 20:35 2 1/2 0/4   1 1 2 1 1       3   -2
4 LEKAVICIUS, LUKAS 21:28 15 6/9 0/1 3/4   1 1 3         3 4 15
10 HAYES-DAVIS, NIGEL 17:06 5 1/2 1/3   2 1 3         1 1 1 4
13 JANKUNAS, PAULIUS 11:11           2 2 1   1       1 3
16 LUKOSIUNAS, KAROLIS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
21 MILAKNIS, ARTURAS 24:55 8 0/1 2/2 2/4   2 2     1     1 2 7
23 GEBEN, MARTINAS 11:28 8 1/2   6/6 1 3 4     1 1   2 4 13
31 JOKUBAITIS, ROKAS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
32 LEDAY, ZACH 31:49 11 4/12   3/4 4 5 9     1 1 3 3 4 9
34 LANDALE, JOCK 33:21 12 5/9 0/3 2/2 3 8 11     2   1 2 1 12
92 ULANOVAS, EDGARAS 17:06 2 1/4 0/1   1 1 2 1   2     2 1 -2
Team           2 3 5               5
Totals 225:00 82 24/51 6/18 16/20 15 33 48 12 1 15 2 5 20 24 86
        47.1% 33.3% 80%
Head coach: JASIKEVICIUS, SARUNAS

Head Coaches

ITOUDIS, DIMITRIS
CSKA Moscow
"I would like to congratulate my team. This is actually the first that goes to the clutch moment, to the overtime, that we win this season, and I am happy for that. Definitely, if we talk shortly about the game, we would say we changed our mindset halfway. We did it late in the first quarter, when we realized that today's game had to be more physical, although we prepared the game to be like that, to the level of fouls. So we changed our mindset, and I think we took the lead in the first half of a tied game with a buzzer shot by Baker. I think that overall, we had the same picture in the third and fourth quarters, although we had a big margin for such a close game, a lead of 6 points or so, but two quick three-pointers by Walkup, in isolation, great shots, brought them back. Then we went to overtime and I think we had our opportunity and I think that there, we made some good decisions. Mike (James) went to the drive, before that, in isolation, Kyle (Hines) had that layup or a dunk. 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. Thanks a lot to the fans for supporting the team. They believed and kept believing although we had some difficulties in the game."
JASIKEVICIUS, SARUNAS
Zalgiris Kaunas
"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."

Players

JAMES, MIKE
CSKA Moscow
"[Coach Itoudis] and my teammates told me to keep being aggressive. I played really bad for about four quarters, but luckily we had overtime and he just sat me down and told me to just keep being aggressive. And I was, and it worked out. [On the game-winner,] I wanted to get a good shot off, get one of the shots I normally shoot, and it went in."
HACKETT, DANIEL
CSKA Moscow
"It was very difficult. Zalgiris is a hell of a team, well-coached, and even when they had some losses lately, we knew that they were going to come in here without pressure and play a very strong game, as it shows. The game was tough, as it is always with Zalgiris. It was a classic battle. We fought and tried to play through difficult moments and in the end, Mike (James) made a huge shot and lifted us to the win. It was a great team win."
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