Voigtmann leads CSKA past Valencia
CSKA Moscow confirmed its good form by downing Valencia Basket 81-70 in the Russian capital on Thursday. CSKA won its fourth straight game to take its record to 15-6, while Valencia slipped to 10-11. Johannes Voigtmann led the winners with 19 points and 10 rebounds, Mike James scorecd14 points, Howard Sant-Roos had 11 and Daniel Hackett got 10. San Van Rossom paced Valencia with 16 points and Bojan Dubljevic added 10 for the visitors. CSKA led 42-39 at halftime. CSKA kept rolling and baskets by Kyle Hines boosted the hosts' lead to 60-52 late in the third quarter. Maurice Ndour brought Valencia within 60-56 after 30 minutes. Sant-Roos and Voigtmann took over early in the fourth quarter, as CSKA boosted its margin to 74-60 and never looked back.
Voigtmann got CSKA going with back-to-back three-pointers. Van Rossom answered from downtown and got help from Aaron Doornekamp and Bojan Dubljevic to bring Valencia within 8-7. James took over with a huge dunk, but Van Rossom and Dubljevic each hit one from beyond the arc to give the visitors their first lead, 12-15. Nikita Kurbanov joined the three-point shootout and Voigtmann fired in his third triple for an 18-15 CSKA edge. Guillem Vives stepped up with a driving layup that Voigtmann erased with a jump hook to fix the score at 20-17 after 10 minutes. Brock Motum downed a three-pointer early in the second quarter, which Marinkovic followed with a layup for a 20-22 Valencia lead. Sant-Roos and Kosta Koufos tried to change things for CSKA, but Marinkovic hit a circus shot and Colom added a triple to keep the visitors ahead, 26-27. CSKA found new options on offense, as Hackett and Joel Bolomboy each connected from downtown for a 36-32 CSKA lead. Van Rossom followed a jumper with a fast break layup and Marinkovic nailed a wild three-point play, but James singlehandedly kept CSKA in charge, 42-39, at halftime.
Louis Labeyrie and Dubljevic each scored down low soon after the break and Van Rossom added a layup for a 44-45 Valencia lead. Darrun Hilliard struck from beyond the arc and James added a rainbow jumper for a 49-45 CSKA edge. Kurbanov nailed a three-pointer and Voigtmann added a fast break layup, but Van Rossom brought Valencia within 54-49. Hines scored twice around the basket and James helped CSKA boost its margin to 60-52. Ndour dunked and added an alley-oop layup to cut Valencia's deficit to 60-56 after 30 minutes. Sant-Roos and Ndour exchanged baskets early in the fourth quarter before Voigtmann hit a three-pointer for a 65-58 CSKA margin. Bolomboy ignited the crowd with an off-balance layup-plus-foul that made it a double-digit game for the first time, 68-58. Sant-Roos sank a corner triple to cap a 9-0 run and Voigtmann soon added his fifth triple to seal the outcome, 74-60, to seal the outcome with 4 minutes left. Valencia kept trying, but CSKA had plenty of time to celebrate a well-deserved win.
Pivotal performer
Johannes Voigtmann was unstoppable all game long, with outstanding shot selection and helping his team in many ways. He finished the game with 19 points on 2-of-3 two-point shooting and 5-of-5 from downtown plus 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block for a PIR of 26. No other player has hit more three-pointers without a miss in a EuroLeague game this season.
Game-changing moment
Valencia managed to stay within 62-58 early in the fourth quarter but CSKA improved its defense when it mattered most. Meanwhile, Voigtmann and Howard Sant-Roos each struck from beyond the arc in a 9-0 run highlighted by Joel Bolomboy's off-balance three-point play. All of a sudden, CSKA had a 71-58 margin and full control of the game.
Stellar stat
Three-point shots definitely made the difference in this game. CSKA was unstoppable from beyond the three-point line, hitting 14 of 22 shots (63.6%). Valencia was less effective from three-point territory, hitting just 8 of 29 shots (27.6%).
Did you notice?
Sam Van Rossom had his best scoring night in the EuroLeague in his 42nd game in the competition - all with Valencia. He finished the game with 16 points. His previous career-high was 15 points against Unicaja Malaga on January 4, 2018.
Next game
Both teams return to Turkish Airlines EuroLeague action next week. CSKA visits Khimki Moscow Region in the Leningradka Derby on Thursday, January 30. A day later, Valencia hosts Panathinaikos OPAP Athens.

Thursday, January 23, 2020
Euroleague.net