2020-21Regular SeasonRound 8
CSKA Moscow 89
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 86
November 12, 2020 CET: 18:00
Local time: 20:00 MEGASPORT ARENA

CSKA holds off Baskonia's comeback

CSKA Moscow grabbed its third consecutive win in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season by holding off TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 89-86 at Megasport Arena on Thursday. CSKA's 500th EuroLeague game this century made it the first team to reach that milestone. CSKA improved to 5-3 in the standings while Baskonia dropped to 2-4. Darrun Hilliard led the winners with 31 points on 7-for-10 three-point shooting, tying a club record. Daniel Hackett added 16 points while Will Clyburn and Toko Shengelia each had 12 for CSKA. Youssoupha Fall led Baskonia with 19 points. Pierria Henry added 17 points -- 15 in the final 5 minutes. Alec Peters and Luca Vildoza each scored 13 and Rokas Giedraitis 10 for the guests. CSKA led 79-64 midway through the fourth quarter but Henry led Baskonia to tie it at 84-84. A three-pointer by Hilliard and free throws by Nikola Milutinov sealed the outcome in the final seconds.

Shengelia got CSKA going with a jump-hook and Hackett added a triple for a 5-0 lead. Giedraitis buried a floater but Hilliard downed a couple of jumpers in a 6-0 run that boosted the difference to 11-2. Giedraitis kept pacing Baskonia with a three-point play but Hackett and Hilliard made it a double-digit game, 15-5. Vildoza struck from downtown and Fall added a jump-hook but Hackett and Shengelia kept CSKA way ahead, 19-10. CSKA found new go-to guys in Nikita Kurbanov and Alexander Khomenko but Fall and Peters kept Baskonia within 23-16 after 10 minutes. Khomenko struck from beyond the arc early in the second quarter. Fall answered with a tip-in, igniting a 0-7 run that Peters capped with a jumper to get Baskonia as close as 26-22. Johannes Voigtmann hit a jumper and Hilliard nailed a triple for a 31-22 CSKA lead. Vildoza and Hackett traded jumpers but Fall scored again at 33-26. Hackett and Zoran Dragic traded triples before Hilliard struck twice more from downtown, giving CSKA a 42-29 lead. Giedraitis and Achille Polonara tried to change things for Baskonia but a red-hot Hilliard and Shengelia gave the hosts a 47-35 margin at halftime. Shengalia and Vildoza exchanged baskets soon after the break and Fall scored twice in the paint to bring Baskonia within 49-41. Hilliard followed a driving layup with a three-pointer and Hackett scored in transition but Peters and Arturs Kurucs gave Baskonia hope at 56-47. Hilliard, Khomenko and Clyburn all scored in penetration but Peters and Polonara kept the guests as close as 66-58 after 30 minutes. Hilliard downed his sixth three-pointer early in the fourth quarter and Clyburn bettered Vildoza's jumper with a bomb from beyond the arc, good for a 73-60 CSKA lead. Vildoza downed another jumper but so did Hackett, getting help from Nikola Milutinov and Clyburn to make it 79-64, seeming to seal the outcome. Instead, Henry rescued Baskonia with 11 points in 4 minutes, getting help from Fall and Giedraitis to bring Baskonia to within 82-80 with 1:19 left. Henry tied the game from the foul line with 48.4 seconds remaining. Clyburn and Henry traded jumpers and Hilliard sank a critical triple with 23.1 seconds left. Baskonia missed 3 consecutive shots and Milutinov sealed the win with free throws.

Pivotal performer

Hilliard had a career night, leading CSKA to a big win against his former team. He finished with a career-best 31 points on 5-of-6 two-point shots, 7-of-10 three-pointers, a rebound, 2 assists and 2 fouls drawn for a PIR of 32, also a personal-best. Only former CSKA icons Milos Teodosic, Nando De Colo and Trajan Langdon had ever made 7 three-pointers for the club before Hilliard did so on Thursday.

Game-changing moment

CSKA found good shots from beyond the arc midway through the second quarter. Hackett hit one and a red-hot Hilliard added three more, as CSKA extended its lead from 26-22 to 42-29. Baskonia never gave up but CSKA never gave up the lead from that moment.

Stellar stat

Two-point shooting and turnovers made the difference in this game. CSKA buried 20-of-30 shots inside the arc (66.7%) and limited Baskonia to 20-of-37 (54.0%). Baskonia picked up 23 turnovers, its most since November 26, 2015 against Olympiacos Piraeus. CSKA limited turnovers to 14.

Did you know?

CSKA became the first time to play 500 EuroLeague games. FC Barcelona ranks second with 499 after its game against Fenerbahce tonight, followed by Olympiacos Piraeus (492) and Baskonia (491). CSKA registered its 384th win, which also leads the all-time standings.

Next game

Both teams returning to EuroLeague action early next week, on Tuesday, November 17. CSKA visits archrivals Zalgiris Kaunas and Baskonia welcomes Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul to Vitoria-Gasteiz.

Darrun Hilliard - CSKA Moscow - EB20
Thursday, November 12, 2020
Euroleague.net
Referees: BOLTAUZER, MATEJ; ZAMOJSKI, JAKUB; UDYANSKYY, EDUARD
Attendance: 2745
By Quarter1234
CSKA Moscow23241923
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz16192328
End of Quarter1234
CSKA Moscow23476689
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz16355886
CSKA Moscow
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
3 BOLOMBOY, JOEL 9:00     0/1 0/2   1 1   1       1 1 -1
4 KHOMENKO, ALEXANDER 9:36 7 1/1 1/2 2/3           2     2 4 5
6 HILLIARD, DARRUN 34:25 31 5/6 7/10     1 1 2 1       1 2 32
10 HACKETT, DANIEL 27:33 16 4/7 2/3 2/2   3 3 3 1 3     4 2 14
11 ANTONOV, SEMEN 4:14     0/1                   3   -4
17 VOIGTMANN, JOHANNES 14:59 2 1/1 0/1     3 3 1   1     1   3
21 CLYBURN, WILL 23:58 12 3/5 1/3 3/5       2 1 2   1 3 3 6
23 SHENGELIA, TORNIKE 27:11 12 4/5 1/3 1/4 2 5 7 4 1 4     4 5 15
28 LOPATIN, ANDREI DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
32 UMRIKHIN, YURY DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
33 MILUTINOV, NIKOLA 28:49 7 2/5   3/6 1 1 2 1   1     3 6 6
41 KURBANOV, NIKITA 20:15 2     2/2 1   1   2       2 3 6
Team           1 1 2     1         1
Totals 200:00 89 20/30 12/24 13/24 5 15 20 13 7 14 0 1 24 26 83
        66.7% 50% 54.2%
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
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
2 RAIESTE, SANDER DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
3 VILDOZA, LUCA 29:49 13 5/10 1/3     2 2 4 1 4     2 3 10
5 JEKIRI, TONYE 7:27   0/2           2 1 1     3   -3
7 HENRY, PIERRIA 30:00 17 2/2 2/4 7/8   3 3 5 1 6     2 4 19
8 SEDEKERSKIS, TADAS 16:10     0/1   1 6 7 1         2 1 6
12 DIOP, ILIMANE 4:39           2 2     2     3 1 -2
19 FALL, YOUSSOUPHA 27:09 19 7/9   5/6 5 3 8 1 2 6 1   2 7 27
25 PETERS, ALEC 19:54 13 3/3 2/5 1/1 1 2 3 1   1     3 3 13
30 DRAGIC, ZORAN 9:18 3   1/1             1         2
31 GIEDRAITIS, ROKAS 21:10 10 2/6 1/3 3/3 2   2     2     4 2 2
33 POLONARA, ACHILLE 24:28 8 1/4 1/2 3/4 1 3 4 1 1       3 3 9
47 KURUCS, ARTURS 9:56 3 0/1 1/1   2   2           2   2
Team           1 3 4               4
Totals 200:00 86 20/37 9/20 19/22 13 24 37 15 6 23 1 0 26 24 89
        54.1% 45% 86.4%
Head coach: IVANOVIC, DUSKO

Head Coaches

ITOUDIS, DIMITRIS
CSKA Moscow
"I would like to comgratulate my team for the win, its performance and the respect they showed for the game and each other. I think, and we will all agree, that we were in control of the game most of the time. We got into the game really strong, not giving the opportunity to our opponent to have open looks or good offenses. We were dominant. Definitely, we had some lack of stamina in the end and two facts – the fact that we lost the rebounds battle and that we shot poorly on free throws – kept them in the game consistently. The other fact, which was also a turning point for us, was the fact that we forced 23 turnovers. It shows that we were good at that level, for sure. Congratulations to the team."
IVANOVIC, DUSKO
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
"This game was pretty much like the three-four previous games: every time we don't start the game the way we have to. We play sloppy, slowly, we turn the ball over. The second half was better, but we have to play on the same level of aggressiveness and concentration for all 40 minutes. When you have 23-24 turnovers, it's difficult to beat a team like CSKA. We had our chance, we didn't use it, but I hope we will be better in the next games."

Players

HILLIARD, DARRUN
CSKA Moscow
"I always got love for the people in Baskonia. They gave me an opportunity, my first opportunity in Europe. I will always be greatful to them. But we just wanted to come out and get a win. It has been a tough season so far and we have a new group, still, so we are kind of getting adjusted to one another. We just wanted to come out and get a win, that was everything I was trying to do. It wasn't symbolic; it was just me going out there and trying to get a win. We needed one badly and I am glad we got it."
SHENGELIA, TORNIKE
CSKA Moscow
"We fought together until the end. Even when they came back and we blew the lead, a 10-13-point lead, they came out to tie the game. We kept believing in one another and kept fighting. We knew that Baskonia is not a team that you can relax against, not even one second, so that is what they proved also today. I think being together and keeping fighting until the end got us to win the game. [At halftime, Coach Itoudis] said that we had to start 0-0; it didn't matter if we had the lead or not. We had to go out and keep pushing to go all the way and win this game."