CSKA gets back on track by mauling Partizan

CSKA Moscow got back to its winning ways by crushing a depleted Partizan NIS Belgrade 88-46 on Friday. The win improved CSKA to 3-2 for a share of the second place in Group A, while Partizan dropped to 1-4 and fifth place. CSKA took control from the beginning and with its aggressive defense that forced 23 turnovers, built a big margin throughout the game. The hosts were up 32-12 midway through the second quarter, held 42-18 at halftime, and in the fourth quarter had as much as an 88-42 advantage. Sonny Weems paced CSKA with 18 points and 8 assists, Vitaly Fridzon netted 16, and Vladimir Micov 15 points in victory. Partizan was without Tarence Kinsey, Dejan Musli and saw Leo Westermann go down with knee injury early in the game. Bogdan Bogdanovic led the visitors with 13 points, while Joffrey Lauvergne had 9 points plus 12 rebounds.

First quarter: Hosts take control from the start

CSKA took control from the start, despite Leo Westerman opening scoring with a floater. Micov quickly put CSKA on the scoreboard with a baseline jumper, before Jeremy Pargo made a fastbreak dunk, and Weems scored a layup for a 6-2 advantage. After Lauvergne banked in a shot, Victor Khryapa replied with a two-handed reverse fastbreak dunk, and Micov added a hook shot. After a timeout, Partizan tried with 1-3-1 zone defense, but Khryapa sank a three-pointer. Westermann hit a long jump shot and Bogdanovic made a baseline jumper, but CSKA's defense did not allow the visitors much more than that. Sasha Kaun had an easy dunk and a put-back for 19-10, before Pargo's reverse layup extended the margin to double digits. Partizan was in more trouble when Westerman was forced to leave the game with knee injury. CSKA held 21-10 after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: CSKA rides defense to big lead

The start of the second quarter was similar to the first, with CSKA's defense allowing only one field goal in the first five minutes of the quarter. Kyle Hines started things with a dunk, and after a layup from Bogdanovic, Hines and Weems made layups before Vitaly Fridzon sank a triple and a mid-range jumper for 32-12 advantage midway through the second quarter. After a timeout, Nikola Milutinov ended a long Partizan drought with a basket-plus-foul, but layups from Kaun and Weems extended the lead to 37-15. Milosavljevic made a runner, but CSKA's offense was rolling as Weems answered with basket-plus-foul, and Khryapa made a baseline jumper for a 42-18 halftime lead.

Third quarter: 11-0 run extends margin into the 30s

Nemanja Bezbradica and Micov traded triples to start the second half, but it was all CSKA after that. Weems and Micov fueled another big run, as Weems hit a jumper, Micov sunk another three-pointer, and Weems made a big fastbreak dunk. A jumper from Khryapa opened a 55-21 margin, as the visitors were without a single point for more than 5 minutes before Milosavljevic snapped a 13-0 run with a tough three-pointer. Bogdanovic also hit from behind the arc to help cut it to 59-29, but Hines scored inside, and Fridzon's back-to-back triples helped CSKA to a 69-31 lead after three quarters.

Fourth quarter: Margin peaks at 46

Micov opened the fourth quarter with a triple, as CSKA kept its intensity and hustled on defense to increase the margin to 74-31. Lauvergne and Milutinov scored layups for the visitors, before Aaron Jackson and Bogdanovic traded triples. However, the margin reached 46 points after Weems hit a three-pointer, Jackson made 4 free throws, and Andrey Vorontsevich made a long jumper, 88-42. Near the end, Dallo made a couple of put-backs to round out the scoring.