2018-19Regular SeasonRound 16
Zalgiris Kaunas 79
CSKA Moscow 84
January 04, 2019 CET: 19:00
Local time: 20:00 ZALGIRIO ARENA

CSKA outlasts Zalgiris 79-84 in Kaunas

After winning by double-digits for most of the first 25 minutes, CSKA Moscow needed a late comeback to escape with a 79-84 victory against host Zalgiris Kaunas on Friday. CSKA improved to 12-4 and ended a three-game road losing streak. Zalgiris fell to 7-9. Will Clyburn scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half and Daniel Hackett matched his total for the winners. Nando De Colo added 13 points and Cory Higgins 11 for CSKA. Brandon Davies led Zalgiris with 21 points, while Marius Grigonis downed 13 and Derrick Walton Jr. had 10. Hackett's 5 consecutive points in the last 2 minutes made the difference after CSKA had trailed by 6 points, 63-57, early in the final quarter.

Second-chance triples by Higgins and Sergio Rodriguez sent CSKA in front 4-10. Free throws drew Zalgiris within a point before Andrey Vorontsevich, De Colo and Hackett, twice, hit from deep, as well. Even though Davies broke the spell with a couple of baskets for Zalgiris, CSKA owned a 17-28 advantage after 10 minutes. CSKA's defense remained stingy as Clyburn and Othello Hunter joined the scoring before Rodriguez's three-point play made it 22-35. Nate Wolters, Laurynas Birutis and Edgaras Ulanovas helped Zalgiris get back to within 32-40, but CSKA stayed strong to reclaim a double-digit lead, 34-44, at the break. The teams continued trading points slowly after halftime until an Arturas Milaknis triple – his team's first of the game – got Zalgiris within 43-48. Walton and Grigonis followed suit to make it 51-52 before Davies converted a three-point play for the home team's first lead of the game. Grigonis lifted the roof off Zalgirio Arena with another triple and Walton hit 2 of 3 free throws before the buzzer for a 59-55 Zalgiris lead after a 21-7 run to end the third quarter. Another three-point play by Davies upped the difference to 63-57 early in the final quarter. That's when Clyburn came alive with 4 points and Higgins drilled from deep to make it 65-64. Clyburn was back with a reverse dunk that Hackett followed with free throws for a 69-69 tie, but Grigonis answered from deep. Free throws left Zalgiris in front by a point until Clyburn fed Hackett for a triple at 74-76 with 1:15 left to play. Higgins made 1 of 2 free throws entering the final minute. Walton found Aaron White for a dunk at 76-77 with 36.5 seconds left. Hackett appeared again for a step-back jumper with 15 second left. Davies and Clyburn made 1 free throw each, but down 77-80, Zalgiris needed a three-pointer to force overtime and never got that chance due to fouls.

CSKA ends road losing streak

The visitors had lost their last three and four of the previous five road games coming into the game and looked in trouble down 6 early in the final quarter. CSKA had also lost its last two trips to Kaunas, not to mention last season's third-place game in Belgrade. This victory, however, gave CSKA a season sweep and a 3-20 record all told against Zalgiris this century in the EuroLeague.

Streaky shooters

CSKA went 6-for-6 on three-pointers in the first quarter – with five different players hitting their first shots – but, inexplicably, its shooters missed their next 18 attempts from downtown before Clyburn ended the drought with 5 minutes left and then fed Hackett for the game-changing triple with 1:15 to play.

Stats story

Zalgiris had its best night this century at the free throw line, making 38 of 43 attempts, let by Edgaras Ulanovas going 9 for 10. On April 8, 2004, Zalgiris also made 38, but missed 11 shots, in its infamous overtime loss to eventual champion Maccabi Tel Aviv that year. Its 38 made free throws on Friday were the most by any EuroLeague team in almost 12 years, since Panathinaikos Athens did the same on May 6, 2007. The record of 42 belongs to Panathinaikos, too.

Moving up the charts

Kyle Hines had a blocked shot to break his tie with Ioannis Bourousis for third place all time in the EuroLeague. He now has 195 blocks for his career. Bryant Dunston of Anadolu Efes Istanbul is second with 207 and counting.

Next round

CSKA stays on the road in Round 17 to open a double-round week against host Darussafaka Tekfen Istanbul on Wednesday. Zalgiris, meanwhile, stays at home to start the week on Tuesday against another Istanbul team, Anadolu Efes.

Daniel Hackett - CSKA Moscow - EB18
Friday, January 4, 2019
Euroleague.net
Referees: JAVOR, DAMIR; GARCIA, JUAN CARLOS; ROSSI, MICHELE
Attendance: 15205
By Quarter1234
Zalgiris Kaunas17172520
CSKA Moscow28161129
End of Quarter1234
Zalgiris Kaunas17345979
CSKA Moscow28445584
Zalgiris Kaunas
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 DAVIES, BRANDON 29:00 19 6/9   7/8 2 5 7 1   4     3 5 21
1 WALTON JR, DERRICK 13:36 10   1/1 7/9   1 1 3 1 1     4 5 13
3 WOLTERS, NATE 23:20 6 2/3 0/1 2/2   2 2 2 1 1   1 3 3 7
7 WALKUP, THOMAS 10:41 3 1/1   1/2       1 1 1     2 2 3
10 ULECKAS, LUKAS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
13 JANKUNAS, PAULIUS 12:41 2 0/2   2/2   1 1 1   3 1   3 1 -2
17 BIRUTIS, LAURYNAS 4:39 4 1/1   2/2   1 1             1 6
21 MILAKNIS, ARTURAS 18:59 3 0/2 1/4   1 1 2         1 4   -5
30 WHITE, AARON 31:46 8 2/5 0/1 4/4   7 7 1   2 3   3 5 15
31 JOKUBAITIS, ROKAS 3:09 2 1/1               1         1
40 GRIGONIS, MARIUS 24:50 13   3/5 4/4   3 3 3 1 3     4 4 15
92 ULANOVAS, EDGARAS 27:19 9 0/3 0/2 9/10   3 3   1 2   1 3 6 7
Team           3   3               3
Totals 200:00 79 13/27 5/14 38/43 6 24 30 12 5 18 4 3 29 32 84
        48.1% 35.7% 88.4%
Head coach: JASIKEVICIUS, SARUNAS
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
CSKA Moscow
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 DE COLO, NANDO 29:19 13 4/9 1/2 2/3   2 2 3 3     1 4 2 11
3 BOLOMBOY, JOEL 2:42     0/1                       -1
5 PETERS, ALEC 5:54 2 1/2 0/2   1   1 1 1     2 2   -2
13 RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO 23:46 6 1/6 1/5 1/1 2 3 5 3 3 1 1   3 5 10
20 VORONTSEVICH, ANDREY 17:21 5 1/1 1/4   1 5 6 2 1   1   3 2 11
21 CLYBURN, WILL 29:37 19 5/8 0/2 9/11 1 3 4 3 1 3     2 9 24
22 HIGGINS, CORY 19:33 11 2/4 2/4 1/2 1 1 2     2   1 4 3 4
23 HACKETT, DANIEL 20:19 19 2/3 3/4 6/6 1   1           3 4 19
30 KULAGIN, MIKHAIL DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
41 KURBANOV, NIKITA 11:30 2 1/2 0/1   1 2 3     1     2    
42 HINES, KYLE 21:35 3 1/2   1/2 2   2 2 1 3 1   4 2 2
44 HUNTER, OTHELLO 18:24 4 2/5     1 1 2 1   1     5 2  
Team           4 1 5               5
Totals 200:00 84 20/42 8/25 20/25 15 18 33 15 10 11 3 4 32 29 83
        47.6% 32% 80%
Head coach: ITOUDIS, DIMITRIS

Head Coaches

JASIKEVICIUS, SARUNAS
Zalgiris Kaunas
"First of all, I want to thank the fans at Zalgirio Arena. They bought all the tickets to this game months ago, so that's why this loss is so tough for us. On the other hand, it shows that we can be fighting against any opponent despite our problems. I'm not satisfied because it seemed like the team was waiting for something. It seemed that CSKA was more motivated at the start of the game. Later we were more solid, our switch-all defense was quite good. The little details were the key in the end and they didn't go our way."
ITOUDIS, DIMITRIS
CSKA Moscow
"I'm very satisfied with the character we showed most of the game. Those are the moments, when you've been challenged, you've been doubted, and the players showed great character and responded on the court. We had our moments for sure, like I said. We were trying to keep our composure throughout the game. We were expecting Zalgiris would try full-court pressure. That third quarter could have cost us, because the aggressivity was high. We had a big difference, we tried to go to the line, too. But we played physical and aggressive basketball, so congratulations goes to the players. In these moments, with such a great crowd, against such a competitive team and a very physical team, we managed to force 18 turnovers on their court. I think this is one of the keys. Last but not least is the fact that my players, regarding the turnaround and the fact that Zalgiris took the lead, they kept believing in our game, and defensively I think we responded great. Offensively we found the way, either against switches to move the ball better – because at one point, we were stopped when they were switching – or when they were not switching, after that, to find the good looks. That was what characterized us throughout the season and throughout the first half. So congratulations to the players again, and congratulations to Zalgiris."

Players

DAVIES, BRANDON
Zalgiris Kaunas
"We obviously had the opportunity to put away a good team, but a couple mistakes against a good team and they'll make you pay. They really came out and were aggressive with us. Once we matched their physicality and started playing solid, we were right in the game and got a little lead. But they were playing aggressive all game."
CLYBURN, WILL
CSKA Moscow
"Basically, everybody kept believing. throughout the game. There were ups and downs. Everyone went on their runs. That third quarter, we let them back in it. But we kept our composure, kept playing, kept fighting and that was the key to the game. You are going through games of runs, offensively and defensively, and we knew that we had to win this game on the defensive end and not rely on our offense."
HACKETT, DANIEL
CSKA Moscow
"I'm very proud of how we played as a team, coming in here, fighting, staying together. It was not easy, but we worked hard during the week to prepare this game with our coaches and we deserve a good win. It's a good way to start the year. We struggled because they got a lot of free throws, but this is how we want to play. We want to play physical, we want to attack teams on defense, and we paid the price. But I think in the fourth quarter, we were good, we were solid and we got some crucial stops to get the game."