2019-20Regular SeasonRound 8
CSKA Moscow 88
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 70
November 15, 2019 CET: 18:00
Local time: 20:00 USH CSKA

James, Strelnieks fire CSKA past Fenerbahce

In a battle of true Turkish Airlines EuroLeague giants, CSKA Moscow defeated Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 88-70 in the Russian capital on Friday. CSKA improved to 6-2 in the standings, joining a six-way tie for first place, while Fenerbahce dropped to 2-6. Mike James led CSKA with 31 points on 6-of-8 three-point shooting. Janis Strelnieks added 23 points while making 4 of 5 from downtown for the winners. Kostas Sloukas paced Fenerbahce with 20 points while Derrick Williams added 19 for the guests, who were without superstar guard Nando De Colo. James and Kyle Hines shined early, allowing CSKA to take a four-point lead, 21-17, after 10 minutes. Sloukas and Williams helped Fenerbahce get within 24-23 early in the second quarter but Daniel Hackett, Kosta Koufos and an unstoppable James carried CSKA to a 39-34 margin at halftime. Strelnieks drilled 3 triples after the break to boost CSKA'S lead to 64-49 BEFORE James hit 5 shots from deep in the fourth quarter to keep CSKA out of trouble until the final buzzer.

James scored 5 points around Darrun Hilliard's three-pointer for a quick 8-2 CSKA lead. Tarik Biberovic sank A jumper and Sloukas followed a triple with a three-point play as Fenerbahce surged ahead 8-10. Hines stepped up with a tip-in and a reverse layup for the hosts, but Williams struck from downtown and Biberovic added a driving basket for a 12-15 score. Hines dunked next, igniting a 7-0 run that Strelnieks capped with a fastbreak layup as CSKA climbed back in front before Sloukas and Strelnieks fixed the score at 21-17 after 10 minutes. Hilliard struck again from the arc in the second quarter but Williams, Nikola Kalinic and Leo Westermann filled a 0-6 Fenerbahe run to get within 24-23. Strelnieks and Hackett got to the basket to boost CSKA's margin to 30-23. Kostas Koufos added a floater to the difference but Luigi Datome stepped up to bring Fenerbahce within 32-28. Williams with a layup and Datome a jumper soon made it a two-point game, 34-32. Williams took over with an alley-oop dunk but James beat the halftime buzzer with a triple that restored a 39-34 CSKA margin. Strelnieks buried a three-pointer right after the break and James gave the hosts their first double-digit lead, 45-34. Ali Muhammed answered from downtown and Williams brought Fenerbahce a bit closer, at 47-40. Jan Vesely and Kalinic tried to change things for the guests but Strelnieks struck twice from beyond the arc and added a three-point play for a 58-49 CSKA lead. Hines scored around the basket before an unstoppable Strelnieks hit another triple that broke the game open, 64-49, after 30 minutes. Nikita Kurbanov of CSKA bettered Kalinic's jumper with a three-pointer early in the fourth quarter. James also struck from downtown but Biberovic and Sloukas kept Fenerbahce within 70-59 with over 6 minutes left. Koufos downed a jump hook, James insisted from beyond the arc and Hackett downed a fastbreak layup that made it 77-59, sealing the outcome as Fenerbahce never recovered.

Pivotal performer

Strelnieks had one of the best games of his EuroLeague career. He finished with 23 points by making 4 of 6 two-pointers, 4 of 5 triples and 3 of 3 free throws. He added 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 fouls drawn for a PIR of 29 in just 24 minutes off the bench.

Game-changing moment

Fenerbahce managed to get within 52-46 midway through the third quarter before Strelnieks found plenty of answers for CSKA with a couple of three-pointers and a wild basket-plus-free throw. He got help from Hines and Hilliard to break the game open, 64-49, at the end of the third quarter.

Stellar stat

Both teams took the same attempts from downtown, 28, but Fenerbahce hit just 7, or 25%, while CSKA downed 13 for 46.4%. CSKA also dominated the boards, outrebounding Fenerbahce by 39-31.

Mike James - CSKA Moscow - EB19
Friday, November 15, 2019
Euroleague.net
Referees: PEREZ, MIGUEL ANGEL; ROCHA, FERNANDO; DIFALLAH, MEHDI
Attendance: 5112
By Quarter1234
CSKA Moscow21182524
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul17171521
End of Quarter1234
CSKA Moscow21396488
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul17344970
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 5:21           1 1               1
5 JAMES, MIKE 30:23 31 2/4 6/8 9/9   2 2 4 1 2     1 7 38
7 UKHOV, IVAN 2:52           1 1               1
11 ANTONOV, SEMEN 1:26                              
13 STRELNIEKS, JANIS 23:52 23 4/6 4/5 3/3 1 2 3 3 3 1     2 3 29
17 VOIGTMANN, JOHANNES 8:52   0/2 0/1   1 2 3 2         3   -1
20 VORONTSEVICH, ANDREY 25:36   0/3 0/3   3 7 10   1   1     1 7
23 HACKETT, DANIEL 17:55 6 3/4 0/2     1 1 4         3 3 8
31 KOUFOS, KOSTA 19:17 6 3/3     1 1 2 1   2 2   1   8
32 HILLIARD, DARRUN 21:30 9 0/3 2/5 3/4   3 3 1         2 3 7
41 KURBANOV, NIKITA 22:57 5 1/1 1/4   2 2 4     2   1 3    
42 HINES, KYLE 19:59 8 4/10     3 4 7 1     3 1 1 1 12
Team           2   2     2          
Totals 200:00 88 17/36 13/28 15/16 13 26 39 16 5 9 6 2 16 18 110
        47.2% 46.4% 93.8%
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
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
9 WESTERMANN, LEO 4:28 2 1/2       1 1 1   1     1   1
10 MAHMUTOGLU, MELIH 3:29   0/1 0/1                   3   -5
12 KALINIC, NIKOLA 38:52 6 3/6 0/2 0/1 3 7 10 2 1 1 2   2 4 16
13 BIBEROVIC, TARIK 15:55 6 3/5 0/3   1 2 3 1         2   3
16 SLOUKAS, KOSTAS 31:08 20 1/3 4/7 6/7 2 1 3 6   1   2 3 5 22
21 WILLIAMS, DERRICK 38:45 19 5/7 2/6 3/5 1 2 3 2 2 1   1 1 4 19
24 VESELY, JAN 23:08 4 2/4     1 1 2 1 1     1 2 2 5
35 MUHAMMED, ALI 16:30 3   1/7     2 2 2         2   -1
44 DUVERIOGLU, AHMET 8:43 4 2/4     4   4     2   1     3
70 DATOME, LUIGI 15:58 6 2/4 0/2 2/2               1 1 1 1
77 LAUVERGNE, JOFFREY 3:04           1 1     1     1   -1
91 STIMAC, VLADIMIR DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Team             2 2     1         1
Totals 200:00 70 19/36 7/28 11/15 12 19 31 15 4 8 2 6 18 16 64
        52.8% 25% 73.3%
Head coach: OBRADOVIC, ZELJKO

Head Coaches

ITOUDIS, DIMITRIS
CSKA Moscow
"After our last game in the EuroLeague in Villeurbanne, we bounced back. For players and for all of us, there is not a better solution, when you have such an opponent in front of you, than to try to redeem yourself. You go out there, hustle, and I think this is what we did today. We controlled the game in terms of hustling. In the first half, we actually shared the rebounds under their basket, 9-9. The only part in which we were not that good was in turnovers. We were turning the ball over. We had 7 turnovers in the first half. The fact that we changed that in the second half and played the next 20 minutes with only 2 turnovers shows that we shared the ball well. We tried to target, in our plan, the weak spots and tried to create something out of it, and I think we managed to do that most of the time, finding good shots. Mike (James) had a very good game, Janis (Strelnieks) also from the perimeter, but everybody caught the rhythm. For instance, Kyle (Hines) opened the game with 3 blocks, Kosta Koufos comes in and blocks the ball, Vorontsevich comes in and has 10 rebounds... I want to say that each and everyone helped a lot. Even when I hate to talk about absent players during the season, it costs us down the stretch. What's important is those that play, so congratulations to them. It is a good win, a big win, and another win in the EuroLeague, in this marathon. Thank you to our fans, the atmosphere was great."
OBRADOVIC, ZELJKO
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
"Congratulations to CSKA, they played a very good game. During the first half we tried; it was, let's say, a close game. But in the second half, they played much better. Something that we tried to prepare in our game plan, I believe that a lot of the game was just the second-half result. Something I don't really like is that somehow some of our players, they looked like they were not interested to play. So it is very hard to see something like that, to try to wake up and to do whatever... I am really sorry to say that but it is my feeling. If you finish the game in the last quarter with two team fouls, what kind of different feeling can I have?"

Players

JAMES, MIKE
CSKA Moscow
"The crowd definitely turned up and I think that in the smaller gym, you can notice them some more because they are closer. In the other gym that we play, they are a little bit further away. So definitely there were more people and it felt like more of a home atmosphere. It was fun! I am glad we won; it is a big win for us. I was definitely tired at the end but this is just a good team win. We needed the win after the loss we took. I just tried to bounce back for my team."
STRELNIEKS, JANIS
CSKA Moscow
"I remember the last time I scored this many points, but the most important thing is that we bounced back after the game in France. It was a tough game for us and we lost. Today, we showed that we can play really good basketball. We just have to continue to work every day and this is a long season. This is just one game, so we have to keep going. If you play against such a great team as Fenerbahce, you cannot relax. Even if you go up 15 points, you cannot relax."