Teodosic, CSKA rally late to win at Limoges

CSKA Moscow used a 25-2 fourth quarter run to come back from a 12-point deficit for a 76-86 victory at Limoges CSP to remain undefeated in Group B. CSKA improved to 5-0 as Milos Teodosic led the way with 16 points and 12 assists, while Sonny Weems scored 18 points, Nando De Colo had 13 and Sasha Kaun scored 10. The hero of the game was reserve big man Pavel Korobkov, who scored all 12 of his points – on 6-of-6 shooting – and grabbed all 3 of his rebounds in the fourth quarter. Limoges missed a chance to snap a losing streak and has now lost three straight in dropping to 1-4 in the group. Jamar Smith nailed 5 three-pointers in scoring 19 points to lead the hosts, while Adrien Moerman had 17 points and 10 rebounds in a losing effort.

First quarter: Teodosic helps CSKA grab 8-point lead

Limoges coach Jean-Marc Dupraz swapped one spot in his starting line-up with Ramel Curry coming on for Pape Philippe Amagou alongside Leo Westermann, Moerman, Nobel Boungou-Colo and Frejus Zerbo. Moscow coach Dimitris Itoudis also made one change as De Colo started in place of Vitaly Fridzon with Aaron Jackson, Weems, Andrey Vorontsevich and Kaun. Kaun started the scoring with an inside basket while Zerbo put back an offensive rebound for Limoges’ first score. Weems sandwiched three-balls around a Zerbo dunk off a no-look pass and Kaun made three free throws to open a 4-11 lead. Curry responded with seven points within 1:30 minutes on two jumpers and a three-pointer to knot the game at 11-11. After a TV timeout, CSKA got back on track with a three-point play by De Colo and then back-to-back triples from Teodosic to open a 13-21 advantage. Westermann answered with a three of his own and then Smith came off the Limoges bench for back-to-back three-pointers to get the deficit down to 22-25 before De Colo converted a fine pass from Teodosic as CSKA led 22-27 after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: CSKA comes back from deficit, unable to break away

Westermann started the scoring in the second quarter with a three-pointer and then evened the contest with two free throws at 27-27. Demetris Nichols scored his first basket to give Moscow its first score of the quarter. Limoges continued its best stage of the game with a Trent Plaisted tip-in and a tough layup by Curry in a 7-0 surge for a 34-29 lead. Jackson hit a big driving layup to finally get Moscow back on the scoreboard and then Weems drained a triple from the right corner to tie the game at 34-34. Moerman scored his first basket and then a three-ball for a 39-36 Limoges lead before Teodosic found Weems for a layup and then nailed a three-ball and De Colo’s jumper put CSKA ahead 39-43. Teodosic fed a great pass to Kaun to make it 41-45 before Limoges scored the final three points of the first half, including Moerman’s jumper just before the buzzer as Moscow led 44-45 going into the break.

Third quarter: Smith scores 13 points in quarter

Both teams started the second half on fire, starting with Smith with a three from the right wing to push Limoges back ahead right away. Moscow tied it twice and then took the lead 51-53 on a three-pointer from Vorontsevich after both teams went cold. Moerman answered right back with a tip-in and then Plaisted tipped in a miss for a 56-53 lead. Smith continued his fine game with a triple and before Boungou-Colo completed a three-point play and Smith drained another long ball as the lead grew to 65-57. Limoges continued to increase its defensive pressure and the shots would just not fall for Moscow though Weems hit a jumper to cut it to 65-59. But the hosts continued to stay hot as Moerman got a put-back dunk, Smith knocked down a jumper and Boungou-Colo tallied again to put Limoges up 71-59 after three quarters.

Fourth quarter: CSKA uses 25-2 run to put game away

Moscow raced back into the game at the start of the fourth quarter with Weems and Teodosic both hitting jumpers and Korobkov coming off the bench for two inside baskets to chop the lead to 71-68. Moerman’s jumper finally got Limoges on the board after more than three minutes without a score. Korobkov continued his outstanding fourth quarter with a dunk on the break and two more inside baskets for a 73-76 lead. A Limoges timeout did not help as Teodosic upped the lead to 73-79 with a three-ball. And Vorontsevich knocked down a trey as well to ice the game at 73-84 with a minute to play.