CSKA beats Brose Baskets for its 8th straight win

CSKA Moscow pulled out a 90-83 victory over Brose Baskets Bamberg to pick up its eight consecutive Turkish Airlines Euroleague victory in the Russian capital on Thursday evening. CSKA improved to 3-0 and to remain atop of the Top 16 Group E standings, while Bamberg dropped to 0-3. Bostjan Nachbar scored 17 points on 5-for-6 three-point shooting in the opening 11 minutes of the game, and Bamberg nailed 11 three-pointers on only 14 attempts to stay ahead for almost the entire first half. After the German champs held 45-46 halftime lead, CSKA started to take over in the second half and took control of the game with a 14-6 run that bridged the third and the fourth quarter. CSKA did not seal the deal until the final three minutes during which Dionte Christmas, Milos Teodosic and Viktor Khryapa all hit three-pointers to snatch the victory. Khryapa led the winners with 19 points plus 14 rebounds, both tied for career-highs, and finished the game with a career-high 32 index points. Teodosic had 17 points plus 9 assists, while Christmas also netted 17. Nenad Krstic added 14 points and Sasha Kaun chipped in with 10 for CSKA. On the other side, Nachbar finished with career-high and Bamberg record 35 points. Maik Zirbes added 12 points plus 7 rebounds, and Teddy Gipson scored 10 of his 12 points in the second quarter.

First quarter: Teams combine for 9 triples in the first 10 minutes

Nachbar opened the scoring with back-to-back three-pointers before Khryapa got CSKA going with a fastbreak dunk. Kaun also contributed with a dunk, but Nachbar drove to the basket to make it 4-8. Khryapa answered with a jumper, and after Maik Zirbes and Kaun traded baskets inside, Teodosic made a floater for 10-10. Bamberg was back in front in no time, as John Goldsberry and Nachbar hit back-to-back triples. However, Vladimir Micov hit the first shot from downtown for CSKA and Teodosic followed it up with one of his own for 16-16. On ensuing possessions, Casey Jacobsen traded triples with Teodosic, continuing the three-point shootout, before Aaron Jackson's fastbreak layup gave CSKA its first lead of the night, 21-19. After a timeout Bamberg found an answer, as Phillip Neumann made a layup for his first points of the Top 16, and Jacobsen nailed another three as Bamberg held 22-24 lead after the first quarter.

Second quarter: Bamberg keeps the lead as threes keep raining

Nachbar hit back-to-back triples on Bamberg’s first two possession of the second quarter, but couple of dunks from Krstic and a triple from Khryapa cut it to 29-31. Krstic’s basket-plus-foul briefly put CSKA back in the lead, 32-31, but Goldsberry immediately answered with a triple. After Teodosic scored a layup, Gipson and Khryapa traded jumpers, and Nachbar scored inside to keep the visitors with a slim lead. Gipson’s back-to-back three-pointers, Bamberg’s 10th and 11th of the night, made it 38-44, and his jumper extended the lead to 8 points. It was not much of a surprise that CSKA’s reply came from behind the arc as Christmas and Khryapa made back-to-back shots, ending the half on a 7-0 run that made it 45-46 at halftime.

Third quarter: 5 lead-changes, 5 ties in tense quarter

Christmas started the third quarter with a basket-plus-foul, and after Nachbar made a jump shot, Christmas nailed a triple and a long jumper for 53-48. Bamberg regained the lead after Jacobsen, Gipson and Zirbes put together a 0-8 run while keeping the host without a basket for more than 4 minutes. Teodosic’s basket-plus-foul ended that drought while tying the game at 56-56, before Christmas nailed a three-pointer to put CSKA back in front. A see-saw battle continued, though, as Nachbar made layup-plus foul for 62-63, before Khryapa’s layup put CSKA back in the lead and a triple from Theo Papaloukas made it 67-64 at the end of three quarters.

Fourth quarter: CSKA pulls away and wraps up the win

The fourth quarter started with Kaun’s layup on an assist from Papaloukas, but Goldsberry hit a triple, Bamberg’s first of the second half to cut it to 69-67. The hosts stayed in front using their dominance on the offensive glass as well as Kaun’s and Krstic’s craftiness inside, before Khryapa made an uncontested two-handed fastbreak slam to extend it to 76-69, CSKA’s largest lead of the night. Nachbar drove for a layup-plus-foul to keep the visitors in the thick of it, and a dunk from Zirbes made it 78-76. However, Christmas made a triple to give CSKA some breathing room, and after Nachbar made a tough baseline jumper, Teodosic nailed a tough triple for 85-78. After a timeout, Nachbar answered from downtown, but Khryapa hit a triple right back to make it 88-81 and seal the deal.