2018-19Regular SeasonRound 22
CSKA Moscow 82
Real Madrid 78
February 08, 2019 CET: 18:00
Local time: 20:00 MEGASPORT ARENA

De Colo, Higgins lead CSKA to critical win

In a hard-fought battle between true Turkish Airlines EuroLeague powerhouses, CSKA Moscow recorded its fourth consecutive Regular Season win by topping Real Madrid 82-78 in the Russian capital on Friday. Both teams now have a 17-5 record in the standings but CSKA ranks 2nd - and Madrid 3rd - due to its 2-0 record against Los Blancos. Nando De Colo led the winners with 21 points. Cory Higgins, returning from injury, added 15 while Daniel Hackett had 14. Anthony Randolph led Madrid with 20 points. Gustavo Ayon added 11 while Facu Campazzo had 10 for the guests, which led 66-68 with over 6 minutes left before Higgins, De Colo and Will Clyburn made sure CSKA claimed an important win.

Hackett got CSKA going with a three-pointer, igniting a 7-0 opening run which Othello Hunter capped with a layup. Fabien Causeur and Edy Tavares scored around the basket and Randolph struck from downtown to keep Madrid within 9-7. Hunter and Hackett kept pacing CSKA but Campazzo sank a jumper and back-to-back three-pointers by Causeur and Randolph gave Madrid its first lead, 19-20. Kyle Hines dunked and De Colo beat the first quarter buzzer with a triple for a 22-20 CSKA edge. Jaycee Carroll downed an off-balance jumper and Campazzo added a driving layup for a 22-24 Madrid lead early in the second quarter. Higgins followed a jumper with a fast layup and a wild three-point play by Sergio Rodriguez restored a 29-26 CSKA lead. Prepelic scored down low and Carroll added a couple of floaters to make CSKA stop the game at 31-34. A red hot Prepelic struck twice from beyond the arc and a tip-in by Nikita Kurbanov fixed the halftime score at 34-40. De Colo followed a three-pointer with a driving layup, before Causeur scored in penetration and Campazzo added a layup off a steal, but De Colo and Kurbanov kept CSKA within 44-46. Hackett put the hosts ahead with a triple but Randolph answered from downtown and added a layup-plus-foul to make CSKA call timeout at 47-52. Will Clyburn hit free throws and followed De Colo's fallaway jumper with a put-back layup for a 53-52 CSKA lead. Jeffery Taylor stepped up with back-to-back backdoor layups and Ayon kept Madrid ahead. Rodriguez buried a triple and free throws by Kurbanov and Higgins allowed CSKA to get a 64-61 lead after 30 minutes. Ayon followed a dunk with a layup early in the fourth and Rudy Fernandez buried a three-pointer for a 66-68 Madrid lead. De Colo hit a mid-range shot, Hines added a layup and consecutive baskets by Higgins gave CSKA fresh air at 74-68. Higgins bettered Carroll's floater with a triple but Randolph kept Madrid alive, 77-74, with under 3 minutes remaining. Campazzo hit a floater but Clyburn and Hackett both made free throws inside the final minute. Carroll missed an off-balance three-point shot, and Clyburn sealed the outcome from the foul line.

Pivotal performer

Cory Higgins had missed CSKA's previous three games due to injury but returned to be a key factor tonight. He came off the bench to get 15 points in less than 22 minutes, also adding 3 rebounds and 4 fouls drawn. As always, Higgins made CSKA a better team.

Game-changing moment

Madrid led 66-68 but CSKA coach Dimitris Itoudis called timeout and demanded more intensity on defense. Madrid then went scoreless in the next three minutes while De Colo, Hines and Higgins fueled an 8-0 run that gave CSKA the lead for good, 74-68. Madrid kept its chances alive but CSKA never trailed after that moment.

Stellar stat

CSKA outrebounded Madrid by 40-28, and those extra 12 rebounds made the difference in a very balanced game. CSKA pulled down 19 offensive rebounds, limiting Madrid to just 7. It ties for CSKA's second-best mark in the competition this season - it pulled down 21 offensive rebounds against Efes on December 20.

Did you notice?

With the 3 free throws scored today, De Colo remains perfect from the foul line in Moscow this season - 37-of-37. Three other players remain perfect at home from the foul line this season: Marius Grigonis of Zalgiris (23-of-23), Carroll (17-of-17) and Victor Claver of FC Barcelona Lassa (16-of-16). De Colo has made his last 42 free throw attempts at home - his last miss came against Olympiacos Piraeus on March 21, 2018.

Next game

Both teams return to Turkish Airlines EuroLeague action in two weeks' time. CSKA hosts Herbalife Gran Canaria on Thursday, February 21 at 18:00 CET. A day later, Madrid welcomes FC Bayern Munich.

Nando De Colo - CSKA Moscow - EB18
Friday, February 8, 2019
Euroleague.net
Referees: LOTTERMOSER, ROBERT; JAVOR, DAMIR; VILIUS, GYTIS
Attendance: 12341 (Tentative)
By Quarter1234
CSKA Moscow22123018
Real Madrid20202117
End of Quarter1234
CSKA Moscow22346482
Real Madrid20406178
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 26:46 21 6/7 2/5 3/3   3 3 4   3     1 2 22
3 BOLOMBOY, JOEL 9:40   0/1     2   2 1         2    
5 PETERS, ALEC 31:32 2 1/4 0/1   3 5 8 1       1 1 1 6
11 ANTONOV, SEMEN 3:12   0/1 0/1                       -2
13 RODRIGUEZ, SERGIO 14:53 6 1/1 1/3 1/1   1 1 1 2 3     3 2 4
20 VORONTSEVICH, ANDREY DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
21 CLYBURN, WILL 25:01 8 1/6 0/3 6/8 2 4 6 2   1       6 11
22 HIGGINS, CORY 22:40 15 5/11 1/2 2/2 1 2 3 1   1     3 4 12
23 HACKETT, DANIEL 15:09 14 1/1 3/4 3/4   1 1 2 1 2     4 4 14
41 KURBANOV, NIKITA 20:47 6 1/1   4/5 1   1 1     1   3 3 8
42 HINES, KYLE 17:08 6 3/7     4 1 5     2 1 2 2   2
44 HUNTER, OTHELLO 13:12 4 1/6   2/2 3 2 5 2 2 2 1     1 8
Team           3 2 5               5
Totals 200:00 82 20/46 7/19 21/25 19 21 40 15 5 14 3 3 19 23 90
        43.5% 36.8% 84%
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
Real Madrid
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 CAUSEUR, FABIEN 16:05 9 3/5 1/1     2 2 2 2 1         12
3 RANDOLPH, ANTHONY 30:40 20 4/5 3/5 3/4         1   1   3 4 19
5 FERNANDEZ, RUDY 19:15 3   1/5     3 3 2 1       1   4
7 CAMPAZZO, FACUNDO 27:19 8 4/5 0/2   1 2 3 5 3 1     3 6 18
9 REYES, FELIPE 9:16   0/2     1 2 3         1 1 1  
14 AYON, GUSTAVO 25:09 11 5/7   1/2 1 5 6 6 2 2 2 1 3 3 21
20 CARROLL, JAYCEE 16:51 8 4/6 0/3   1   1 1   1     3   1
22 TAVARES, WALTER 14:26 5 2/3   1/2 1   1 1   1     5 1  
24 DECK, GABRIEL 15:55   0/2 0/1     1 1 1   1     1 1 -2
25 PREPELIC, KLEMEN 12:56 10 1/3 2/4 2/2   1 1 4   2     1 2 10
32 KUZMIC, OGNJEN DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
44 TAYLOR, JEFFERY 12:08 4 2/3 0/1   1 2 3     2   1 3   -1
Team           1 3 4     2         2
Totals 200:00 78 25/41 7/22 7/10 7 21 28 22 9 13 3 3 24 18 84
        61% 31.8% 70%
Head coach: LASO, PABLO

Head Coaches

ITOUDIS, DIMITRIS
CSKA Moscow

" I think everybody is satisfied - congratulations to the players. They kept believing. We had a bad second quarter, but we talked a lot in our locker room and stayed on the same page. Despite scoring 12 points (in the second quarter), we kept believing, put out a better effort and shot the ball better, in better circumstances. We kept crashing the boards - we went to the boards very determined and it was very decisive to win the boards by 12 rebounds, if I am not mistaken. That is huge. We knew it was going to be a tough game. Madrid is the defending champion and this is the second time we have won against them. That shows something. We are going game by game and are satisfied with the crowd - you see how good it is when they are a part of equation, especially in the third quarter, when we needed it more. So congratulations to them as well. We know about Cory's quality and the value he has as a player and as a person. Still, he is not at his best, he is going to need some time to make certain adjustments, but I am very happy that I have healthy players. I would be even happier when I have Misha (Kulagin) back. So congratulations to Cory for the comeback but congratulations to the team as a unit, as a group. We prevailed."

"The most minutes played were by Alec Peters - he did a great job on what we want to do on xs and os, rebounding, drawing fouls, always keeping at least one of their players occupied. I would like to emphasise that each and every player gave us something when he came in. That’s very important."

LASO, PABLO
Real Madrid
"First of all, congratulations to CSKA for the victory and to my team, who played a great game. We have to be focused on the things that hurt us. I think there was a moment in the third quarter in which we had stupid turnovers that made them run and get easy baskets on the fast break. Our percentages were very similar but they shot many more free throws and outrebounded us a little bit, but in the rest of the focus of the game, I think we were very solid. Not much else, just that this is a 30-game regular season and we still have games to go. We are looking for the best spot, try to secure our position in the playoffs and look for the home court advantage. Our biggest deficit was probably rebounding, but it is true we did a good job against their backcourt players, and that sometimes opened space for them to rebound. Tavares had two quick fouls and that conditioned us, too, but we did a lot of good things and had a chance to win."

Players

HACKETT, DANIEL
CSKA Moscow
"Alex, Kyle, Joel and Othello made a tremendous job on the boards, giving us extra possessions. Our defense was very solid in the second half and that made us successful in the game. It is a team sport and there are other things on top of scoring that can help a team win."
DE COLO, NANDO
CSKA Moscow
"We feel good - it is a good feeling. Like I said before the game, we are in a good way, so we need to keep working. It is still a long season, you know. We need to go game by game and keep improving our game. I try to do the best for the team and tonight, that is what happened."
HIGGINS, CORY
CSKA Moscow
"First of all, I am very happy. I think it was just an OK performance, most of the credit goes to my teammates because they gave me the confidence to keep playing and welcomed me back, but I am just happy to get the win in such a big game. I think everybody trusts each other in this team and I don't think it matters the moment for me to come back. Like I said, it was all about my teammates. Again, I didn't think I was that good, but the biggest thing was the loose balls. They beat us to a lot of loose balls in the first half and that translated to a lot of points for them. We changed that in the second half and I think that is why we got the win."
PREPELIC, KLEMEN
Real Madrid
"We expected a very difficult game. We know CSKA is a quality team and we knew we had to be better from the beginning. We made some mistakes in the end that cost us the win, but like I said, we played team basketball. CSKA has 12 very good players and at least two of the in every position. They are very dangerous at home and got hot in the second half. We played pretty good defense in the first half - they scored 34 points, but we knew it was not going to be that easy. We needed to play for 40 minutes. Two good teams played today and the better one got the win, but we played as a team and had our chances."