CSKA overwhelmed Anadolu Efes 96-68

CSKA Moscow extended its unbeaten Turkish Airlines Euroleague run by overpowering Anadolu Efes 96-68 in the Russian capital on Wednesday. Efes kept it close for one quarter before Nenad Krstic dominated in an18-2 second-quarter run that made it 48-36 at halftime and then Milos Teodosic and Viktor Khryapa took charge in a 16-2 blitz to open the third quarter as CSKA marched to its eighth straight Euroleague home victory. Andrei Kirilenko shined brighter than the rest with 15 points and just 1 missed shot plus 8 rebounds. Krstic finished with 14 points, Teodosic had 13 and Khryapa tallied 11 points and 8 assists. Sasha Vujacic paced Efes with 21 points and Stanko Barac added 15 as the visitors dropped to 1-1 in Group E.

CSKA took the game right to Efes as Kirilenko knifed through the visiting defense in transition for a two-handed slam. Vujacic hit from outside for Efes’s first points. Esteban Batista managed to get inside to put Efes ahead and soon a confident Vujacic added a long, contested jumper, but a Kirilenko triple put the hosts back ahead 7-6. Kirilenko read the passing lanes for a steal and layup. Vujacic remained hot and after a TV timeout, took a backdoor dish from Barac to put the visitors up. A Tarence Kinsey fast break slam made it 9-12. Teodosic shined with a drive down the middle for a layup as the lead switched hands again. Kirilenki reached 11 first-quarter points with a pair of free throws before Vujacic matched him and the score with a triple, 15-15. Teodosic mimicked his previous drive inside for a basket-plus-foul and a 20-17 CSKA lead. Alexey Shved sank a big three before Kinsey nailed a jumper that settled the first quarter score at 23-21.

A Kinsey steal led to an Oliver Lafayette layup as Efes remained hot on CSKA’s tail. Krstic became CSKA’s top option on offense and showed his range with post moves, free throws and a mid-range jumper that put the hosts out in front 31-23. Barac hit back with 2 free throws, but Teodosic soon had CSKA up by double figures with 2 makes from the line. Sasha Kaun muscled his way to a score and after Jamont Gordon rose to reject Kinsey, Ramunas Siskauskas extended the Muscovites’ run to 14-2. An Efes timeout changed little as a Siskauskas steal led to Kirilenko free throws. Khryapa set up Kaun for a two-handed jam as CSKA looked to ice the game early, 43-25. Dusko Savanovic ended the Efes drought with a triple and soon Cenk Akyol got on the scoreboard too with free throws. Barac also scored from the line as Efes looked to close the gap before halftime. Siskauskas countered with a clutch triple and Krstic scored with a baseline jumper as CSKA regained control. Lafayette free throws narrowed the deficit to 48-36 at halftime.