CSKA Moscow beat Olympiacos 78-86

CSKA Moscow had a solid start in the 2011-12 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Top 16 by edging Olympiacos 78-86 in the Pireaus, Greece in Group E on Wednesday. CSKA became the first team to register a win in this group and remained the only undefeated team in the Euroleague this season. Nenad Krstic paced the winners with 18 points on 10-of-12 free throws. Viktor Khryapa added 16 on 8-of-8 free throws, Ramunas Siskauskas had 12, Andrei Kirilenko got 11 while Jamont Gordon contributed 10 for CSKA. Martynas Gecevicius led Olympiacos with 14 points. Kyle Hines and Pero Antic each added 13 while Vassilis Spanoulis had 11 for the Reds. Antic shined early and got some help from Spanoulis and Gecevicius to give Olympiacos a 15-14 lead. An outstanding Gordon allowed CSKA to get a 21-22 edge after 10 minutes. Hines changed the game on defense and had 10 second-quarter points to lead Olympiacos to a 44-40 margin at halftime. A 0-6 run that Siskauskas capped with a layup gave CSKA the lead for good, 46-50, midway through the third quarter. Spanoulis and Antic kept Olympiacos within 64-68 with 7 minutes left but Krstic had 8 points in crunch time and got some help from Khryapa to make CSKA cruise to a well-deserved, important win.

Antic got Olympiacos going with a driving layup and Kostas Papanikolaou shined with a great spin move in the low post for a 4-1 Olympiacos lead. Siskauskas sank a one-handed floater in the lane and a mid-range jumper by Khryapa gave CSKA its first lead, 4-5. Siskauskas kept pacing the guests with a second-chance basket and soon banked in a turnaround shot for a 5-9 CSKA lead. Antic downed a three-pointer, as Olympiacos used Evangelos Mantzaris on Milos Teodosic to prevent CSKA's fliud ball circulation. Free throws by Joey Dorsey allowed the Reds to regain the lead, 10-9. Krstic came off the bench and immediately delivered with a layup off a wild behind-the-back assist by Teodosic. Kirilenko scored down low but a three-pointer by Spanoulis tied it at 13-13. Krstic split free throws but Gecevicius provided another lead change, 15-14. Krstic kept pacing CSKA with a jump hook and Siskauskas scored again but a triple by Michalis Pelekanos tied the game again, 18-18. Kostas Sloukas buried a triple but Gordon followed free throws with a layup for a 21-22 CSKA lead after 10 minutes.

Sloukas buried his second three-pointer early in the second quarter but a fast break layup by Gordon tied the game again, 24-24. CSKA raised its intensity on defense and kept running its offense through an unstoppable Gordon, who sank a jumper for a 24-26 score. Hines hit foul shots but Kirilenko erased those with a backdoor layup. Gecevicius nailed a catch-and-shoot baseline jumper and a high-flying reverse layup by Hines gave Olympiacos a 30-28 margin. Hines matched Kirilenko's tip-in with a layup but Teodosic struck from downtown to put CSKA back ahead, 32-33. Spanoulis made free throws but Alexey Shved stepped up with a four-meter jumper and a three-pointer in transition, good for a 34-38 CSKA lead. Hines stayed on fire with a power basket and Spanoulis bettered Khryapa's dunk with a triple to keep the Reds within 39-40. Gecevicius joined the three-point shootout, as Olympiacos was all over the place in defense, led by Hines' outstanding energy at both ends. He shined with a tip-in to give Olympiacos a 44-40 lead at halftime.

Olympiacos tried Spanoulis at point guard after the break and stayed really active on defense. CSKA had been scoreless for almost 5 minutes but Khryapa followed a baseline jumper with an easy layup to tie it at 44-44. Antic tried to change things with a tip-in that Teodosic erased with an off-balance jumper. The game turned into a physical battle and CSKA made the most out of it, forcing Olympiacos to take tough shots. Sasha Kaun dunked it and Siskauskas picked up a loose ball and put it in to give the guests a 46-50 margin, after a 0-6 run. Hines sank free throws but Kaun took over with a big basket in the low post. CSKA kept dominating the game tempo with outstanding defense and a three-pointer by Teodosic boosted the guests' lead to 48-55. Gecevicius answered from downtown but Krstic singlehandedly kept CSKA way ahead, 51-58. Spanoulis fed Kostas Papanikolaou for an easy basket and a put-back layup by Georgios Printezis made it a three-point game, 55-58. Khryapa made free throws but a three-point play by Spanoulis got Olympiacos even closer, 58-60. Gordon beat the buzzer with a driving layup for a 58-62 CSKA lead after 30 minutes.

Krstic scored in the low post early in the fourth quarter, as Olympiacos kept struggling to score despite using Acie Law and Spanoulis at both guards. CSKA tried a tall lineup with Kirilenko, Andrey Vorontsevich and Krstic together on court. Law shined with a driving layup but free throws by Kirilenko gave the guests a 60-66 lead with over 7 minutes to go. Papanikolaou shined with a tip-in but Kirilenko and Antic traded free throws for a 64-68 score. CSKA readjusted its offense once Olympiacos entered the foul bonus and started to run its offense through Krstic. He drew 3 fouls and calmly sank 6-of-6 free throws to boost the guests' margin to 65-74. Khryapa and Gecevicius did not miss from the foul line but a fallaway jumper by Shved made CSKA restore a double-digit margin, 67-78, with over 3 minutes to go. Antic struck from downtown and split free throws for a 71-78 Olympiacos deficit. CSKA kept using long possessions to run the game clock down and getting Krstic involved. He made free throws and even when Gecevicius buried a rainbow jumper, Khryapa gave CSKA a 73-82 margin. Sloukas hit free throws and a jumper by Hines got Olympiacos within 77-82 with a minute left. Free throws by Khryapa and a dunk by Siskauskas allowed CSKA to seal the win in style.