CSKA Moscow won by an easy 99-67 against visiting Prokom

CSKA Moscow did not have too much trouble in staying atop the Group A standings with a 7-1 record by downing injury-plagued Prokom Trefl Sopot 99-67 in the Russian capital on Wednesday. CSKA stays as the team to beat in Group A, while Prokom dropped to 1-7 and needs a major turnaround to reach the Top 16. David Andersen paced the winners with a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds. Trajan Langdon and Marcus Goree each added 14 points, Nikos Zisis had 12 and 6 assists and J.R. Holden and Ramunas Siskauskas each got 10 for CSKA, which was without Matjaz Smodis and Aleksey Savrasenko. Theo Papaloukas also returned for CSKA, contributing 5 assists in 16 minutes. Mustafa Shakur had 19 points for Prokom, which played without Milan Gurovic, Tomas Masiulis and Tomas Van den Spiegel. Filip Dylewicz and Jovo Stanojevic each added 14 for the guests. Siskauskas and Andersen led CSKA to a 21-13 lead after 10 minutes. Shakur and Stanojevic kept Prokom in the game for a while, but Andersen had 6 points in an 8-0 CSKA run and soon added a triple to break the game open, 48-34, at halftime. CSKA boosted its margin to 73-51 after 30 minutes and sealed the outcome with a 9-0 opening run in the fourth quarter.

Siskauskas opened the game with a driving dunk that Stanojevic matched with a five-meter jumper. Langdon scored in penetration and Andersen hit his trademark turnaround jumper for a 6-2 CSKA lead. Shakur stepped up with a driving layup, as Prokom became more aggressive at both ends. The guests tried to run their offense through Stanojevic, who banked in a jumper for a 6-6 tie. Siskauskas and Langdon made free throws, as CSKA returned to its usual self on defense. Siskauskas dunked it off a steal to make Prokom call timeout at 12-6, after a 6-0 run. Dylewicz shined with a three-point play, but Prokom had entered the foul bonus. Andersen made free throws, which Stanojevic erased with a close jumper. Goree shined with a tip-in and Holden buried a running triple for a 19-11 CSKA margin. Andrei Vorontsevich provided a highlight with a fast break dunk to cap a 7-0 CSKA run, before free throws from Shakur got Prokom within 21-13 after 10 minutes.

Donatas Slanina tried to ignite a Prokom comeback with a driving layup as the visitors stayed aggressive on defense. Goree fired in one from downtown, but a hook shot by Stanojevic got Prokom within 24-17. Goree buried another three-pointer and Nikos Zisis fed Vorontsevich for an easy basket to restore CSKA’s double-digit lead. Shakur answered with a seven-meter bomb and Dylewicz added a floating jumper to get Prokom within 29-22. Andersen sank a baseline jumper, which Stanojevic erased with a reverse layup. Krzysztof Roszyk shined with a reverse layup, but Langdon and Vorontsevich kept CSKA ahead, 35-26. Shakur fired in a corner triple, but Andersen followed free throws with back-to-back dunks during an 8-0 CSKA run that made it a 14-point game. Roszyk scored again, but Zisis took over with a driving layup. Slanina and a red-hot Andersen traded triples to fix the halftime score at 48-34.

Goree fed Holden for a triple from the corner right after the break to keep CSKA in control. Dylewicz tried to change things with free throws and Stanojevic added a jump hook to get Prokom going. Langdon stepped up with a put-back layup and Siskauskas added free throws. Roszyk found a put-back basket and Stanojevic added a fast break layup, but Langdon buried a big triple for a 16-point CSKA lead. Siskauskas and Shakur traded baskets, as Prokom called timeout to fix its defense. CSKA kept looking for its frontcourt, as Goree and Andersen extended the hosts' lead to 65-44. Prokom now had trouble scoring until Dylewicz buried a six-meter shot and then matched Langdon's triple with another shot from downtown. Holden scored in penetration and Goree fired in his third three-pointer to keep CSKA way ahead, 73-51, after 30 minutes.

The outcome was clear, so CSKA opted to give playing time to Vorontsevich and Anatoliy Kashirov, who will play a key role off the bench with Smodis and Savrasenko sidelined. Prokom opted to do the game with promising center Adam Lapeta and forward Przemyslaw Zamojski. Vorontsevich scored inside and Zisis added a three-point play to boost CSKA's lead to 78-51. By the time Zisis buried a long two-pointer and Zakhar Pashutin added a fast break layup, CSKA had a 31-point margin at 82-51. Prokom called timeout, after which Roszyk sank a triple that Shakur followed with a fade-away jumper. Alexey Shved and Artem Zabelin stepped on court for CSKA midway through the final period, as Lapeta found his first points with a big dunk. Zisis and Pashutin kept pacing CSKA now, but everything was said and done up to that point. CSKA is ready to fight for first place in Group A while Prokom needs a miracle comeback to reach the Top 16.