Nizhny routs Bilbao to stay atop Group L

Nizhny Novgorod cruised past Bilbao Basket 81-65 to remain atop the Group L standings. Nizhny used an 18-0 run bridging the first and second quarters en route to a 43-26 halftime lead and Bilbao never got closer than 10 the rest of the way. The hosts improved to 3-1 in the Last 32, while dropping Bilbao to 2-2. Bilbao did, however, did keep the potential tiebreaker between the sides since it won the teams’ previous duel by 26 a week earlier. Taylor Rochestie paced the winners with 18 points and 6 assists, Vadim Panin added 15 points, Pavel Korobkev scored 11 and Dijon Thompson 10. German Gabriel led Bilbao with 12 points going 10 for 10 from the free-throw line, Damir Markota added 11 points and Alex Mumbru scored 10 in defeat.

The teams traded baskets in the early going with Markota giving the visitors an 8-11 lead. After a Korobkev three-point play tied the game, Rochestie scored the final 7 points of the first quarter to make it 18-11. Rochestie hit another three as Nizhny kept its run going to 18 unanswered points between the first and second quarters to take a 26-11 lead. Alex Mumbru ended the Bilbao drought – the men in black’s first points in nearly five minutes – and Axel Hervelle added another basket. However the lead reached 18 soon after and back-to-back threes by Semen Antonov and Panin made it 43-23. A Dairis Bertans free throw left the scoreboard at 43-26 at halftime. A Mumbru three-pointer brought Bilbao within 12 early in the second half. Bertans nailed a pair of threes to make it 51-41 midway through the third quarter, but Panin scored 5 in a 7-0 spurt to keep Nizhny in control. Petr Gubanov set the difference at 20, which is where at stood at the end of the third quarter, 68-48. Gabriel and Roger Grimau helped Bilbao cut the difference in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough as Nizhny responded to secure the victory.