2020-21Regular SeasonRound 33
Zenit St Petersburg 87
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 53
April 02, 2021 CET: 19:00
Local time: 20:00 SIBUR ARENA

Zenit rocks ASVEL to boost playoff chances

Zenit St Petersburg strengthened its playoff chances by running away from LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne to an 87-53 home win on Friday. Zenit improved to 18-14 and moved into eighth place, tied on victories with ninth-placed TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (18-15). ASVEL's record fell to 12-20. A 15-2 blast after halftime leading to a 25-6 third-quarter difference was decisive as Zenit amassed a 20-point lead that continued climbing to the finish. Billy Baron and Austin Hollins took turns scorching the nets to lead the winners with 15 points each. Arturas Gudaitis added 13 points while Kevin Pangos combined 10 with 8 assists. Only David Lighty, with 12 points, was able to get into double figures for ASVEL, which was tied at 35-35 a minute before halftime but was outscored 52-18 by Zenit after that.

Mateusz Ponitka hit a triple, Tarik Black a layup and Will Thomas a jumper to give Zenit a 9-2 advantage before Moustapha Fall scored ASVEL's first field goal on a put-back. Charles Kahudi followed with a triple for the visitors, but Pangos and Black connected for a third pick-and-roll layup and Thomas hit a turnaround as the lead climbed to 16-9. Gudaitis and Ismael Bako traded dunks as Zenit led 20-15 after 10 minutes. K.C. Rivers bested Bako's next dunk with a three-point play to open the second quarter. Gudaitis soon scored inside for a 25-17 lead, but ASVEL's Derrick Walton answered with a four-point play. William Howard then copied him with a combination of 2 free throws around a put-back to suddenly tie it up, 25-25. Howard answered free throws by Gudiaitis with a layup at 28-27. Lighty gave ASVEL its first lead with free throws at 28-29, then the scoreboard flipped from one team to the other until Baron nailed his first triple for Zenit at 35-31. Howard and Norris Cole answered, however, for a 35-35 tie. Baron opened the final minute of the second quarter with free throws then converted a triple into a four-point play to boost Zenit in front 41-37 at the half.

Pangos fed Black for a dunk to start the second half and Baron kept it going from deep. When Ponitka scored free throws on an unsportsmanlike foul, Zenit had a double-digit lead at 48-37. Lighty and Pangos traded jumpers before Baron struck again from the arc to make it 53-39. Ponitka's block sent Thomas ahead for a transition triple as Zenit's opening run reached 15-2 and the lead hit 56-39. Pangos blasted a second-chance triple as the difference soared to 61-41. Gudaitis kept it going to a commanding 66-43 advantage after 30 minutes. Alex Poythress stole and finished for a new high lead of 72-47 early in the fourth quarter. By the time Hollins erupted for 2 triples and a dunk in his own personal 8-0 run, the score was 80-49 and Zenit could think ahead with confidence to its remaining chores in the ongoing playoff race.

Pivotal performer

Among many candidates on Zenit, sharpshooter Billy Baron scored 15 points in less than 5 minutes bridging the second and third quarters to turn a close game decisively in the host’s favor. He finished with that same total in less than 13 minutes played and with just 2 missed shots for a PIR of 14 on the night.

Turning point

It was 35-35 entering the final minute of the second quarter when Baron hit free throws and converted a four-point play for a 41-37 halftime lead. He came back after the break to hit 2 three-pointers in a 15-2 run to open the third quarter for a 56-39 lead that broke the game open for good.

Hollins shuts the door

If ASVEL had any thoughts of a comeback, Austin Hollins was ready to take the scoring relay from Baron in the fourth quarter. He had a personal 8-0 started by a spectacular save for 13 points in a span of 6 minutes that resulted in the no-doubt-about-it 34-point victory, the biggest in Zenit's two seasons in the EuroLeague.

Stellar stat

Zenit's non-stop defense held ASVEL to a club low 2 of 12 three-pointers on the night. Baron and Hollins, with 4 and 3 triples respectively, each made more shots from the arc than ASVEL as a team.

Next games

Zenit continues knocking on the playoffs door when it hosts Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in a week's time in Round 34, the last game for most teams, but not for Zenit, which still has a rescheduled Round 6 game left to be played against Panathinaikos OPAP Athens on April 12. ASVEL also plays a rescheduled game from Round 30 on Sunday in Tel Aviv against Maccabi before returning to Russia to close its season against CSKA Moscow next Thursday.

Billy Baron - Zenit St Petersburg - EB20
Friday, April 2, 2021
Euroleague.net
Referees: GARCIA, JUAN CARLOS; GKONTAS, SPIROS; KARDUM, LUKA
Attendance: 3195
By Quarter1234
Zenit St Petersburg20212521
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne1522610
End of Quarter1234
Zenit St Petersburg20416687
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne15374353
Zenit St Petersburg
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
1 RIVERS, KC 23:36 5 2/3 0/2 1/1 2 3 5   1       1 1 8
4 PANGOS, KEVIN 22:24 10 2/5 1/4 3/4   3 3 8 1 1   1 2 2 13
7 FRIDZON, VITALY DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 HOLLINS, AUSTIN 23:41 15 2/2 3/6 2/3   3 3   2 2     3 2 13
10 THOMAS, WILL 28:35 9 3/3 1/1   3 2 5 3 1 2       2 18
12 BARON, BILLY 12:49 15 0/1 4/5 3/3   1 1 2   3     1 2 14
13 KHVOSTOV, DMITRY 15:48   0/1 0/2     2 2 4 1       2 1 3
20 ZUBKOV, ANDREY 11:25 2 1/2               2     1 2  
22 POYTHRESS, ALEX 15:26 4 2/4 0/1   1 2 3 1 2       1   6
25 PONITKA, MATEUSZ 22:00 6   1/2 3/4   7 7 2 1 2 2   1 3 16
28 BLACK, TARIK 9:42 8 4/4       2 2 1         3   8
77 GUDAITIS, ARTURAS 14:34 13 4/6   5/6 1   1           3 4 12
Team           1 2 3               3
Totals 200:00 87 20/31 10/23 17/21 8 27 35 21 9 12 2 1 18 19 114
        64.5% 43.5% 81%
Head coach: PASCUAL, XAVI
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
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
5 KAHUDI, CHARLES 13:59 3   1/1     4 4 1 1 1     1 1 8
6 LACOMBE, PAUL 4:53                   2     1   -3
8 DIOT, ANTOINE 20:43 1 0/1 0/1 1/2   1 1 4 1       2 1 3
10 FALL, MOUSTAPHA 18:12 4 2/4     1 2 3       1   1 2 7
12 NOUA, AMINE 20:54   0/1 0/4     4 4   1     1 3   -4
13 HAYES, KEVARRIUS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
14 WALTON JR, DERRICK 20:45 6 0/3 1/1 3/3   1 1 1   4     2 5 4
21 BAKO, ISMAEL 17:49 8 4/6     1 2 3   1 2     1 2 9
23 LIGHTY, DAVID 21:50 12 4/8 0/2 4/4 1   1 1   1     2 2 7
25 HOWARD, WILLIAM 19:01 8 3/4 0/1 2/3 2   2 3 2 1     2 2 11
28 YABUSELE, GUERSCHON 23:05 3 1/4 0/1 1/2   2 2     2   1 2 2 -3
30 COLE, NORRIS 18:49 8 4/9 0/1           1 1     2 1 1
Team           2   2     1         1
Totals 200:00 53 18/40 2/12 11/14 7 16 23 10 7 15 1 2 19 18 41
        45% 16.7% 78.6%
Head coach: PARKER, TJ

Head Coaches

PASCUAL, XAVI
Zenit St Petersburg
"[After halftime] we controlled the rhythm, we made fewer turnovers, and we controlled the defensive rebounds. Our guys tonight played amazing defense and on offense we were excellent. We were very effective at the beginning of the third quarter. In recent games, we were not that way and after we became a little bit nervous in some situations. But tonight, these guys deserved to win and I'm extremely happy for all of them. We still have two games at home and we're going to go step by step. Let's say we won the quarterfinals tonight. We still have to win the semifinals and the final to see what's going on."
PARKER, TJ
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne
"We played a good first half. After that, congratulations to St Petersburg. They played like they want a place in the playoffs."

Players

THOMAS, WILL
Zenit St Petersburg
"I'm just happy with the win. We had to fight hard to get the win against them. ASVEL is a tough, physical team. They're still fighting even though they are not playing for the playoffs. They are still fighting in every game and trying to win. We came out and did what we had to do and got the win. It's a little bit of pressure, but I think we're up for the challenge. We just have to continue to prepare for each game, and go out there and execute our game plan."
PONITKA, MATEUSZ
Zenit St Petersburg
"We had to keep our defensive pressure on particular players and we did that in the second half. We were very aggressive in defense, and when we play good defense, the offense is coming easier. We have big potential with great shooters and big guys who can finish under the basket and good creators. We play great as a team and it's good for us to show our fans that we are still alive and we want more. We are going game by game. When you think too much ahead, then it's a problem in the present... We're going to focus on and try to win every game."
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