CSKA needs late run to put Brose away

CSKA Moscow remained undefeated in Group D by downing Brose Baskets 76-67 at Megasport Arena in the Russian capital on Thursday. The loss dropped Brose Baskets to last place in Group D at 0-3. The game was close for most of the night. Five unanswered points by Teddy Gipson allowed the German champs to take a 51-53 edge at the end of the third quarter. Then back-to-back baskets by Karsten Tadda gave Brose a 61-63 edge with less than seven minutes remaining. It didn't last long, however, as CSKA improved its defense in crunch time while Milos Teodosic and Viktor Khryapa shined in a 13-0 run that put the hosts in control and paved the way to victory. Sonny Weems paced the winners with 17 points. Nenad Krstic and Vladimir Micov each added 13 while Khryapa had 10 and 10 rebounds for CSKA. Bostjan Nachbar had 21 points for Brose and Gipson added 16.

First quarter: Micov, Krstic give CSKA the lead

Maik Zirbes got Brose going with free throws, which Weems erased with a five-meter jumper. Nachbar answered from downtown, as Brose tried to use short possessions early in the game to speed up the game tempo. Zirbes paced Brose with a put-back layup, good for a 2-7 margin. Krstic rescued CSKA with a three-point play and an easy layup that tied it at 7-7. Gipson fed Casey Jacobsen for a backdoor layup, but Anton Ponkrashov hit a jumper and Krstic gave CSKA its first lead, 10-9. Nachbar stepped up with consecutive jumpers only to see a driving layup by Aaron Jackson and a turnaround jumper by Ponkrashov put CSKA back ahead, 14-13. Krstic split free throws and a driving basket by Micov boosted the hosts' lead to 17-13. Latavious Williams scored down low and a huge dunk by Sharrod Ford kept Brose within 19-17. John Goldsberry buried a triple, but Micov struck twice from downtown for a 25-20 CSKA lead after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Bamberg hangs tough

Gavel sank a jumper early in the second quarter, as the guests tried a 2-3 zone defense. CSKA immediately struggled to score and Jacobsen scored around the basket to make it a one-point game. The hosts were held scoreless for more than two minutes while Williams silenced the crowd with a great dunk, causing CSKA to call timeout at 25-26. Jackson found Sasha Kaun for a layup and Khryapa sank a catch-and-shoot jumper to give CSKA some fresh air, 29-26. Ponkrashov shined with an alley-oop layup and Khryapa scored again to boost his team's lead to 33-26. Jacobsen buried a three-pointer and a six-meter jumper by Gipson brought Brose within 33-31. CSKA lacked ball circulation late in the first half and free throws by Nachbar tied it at 33-33. Krstic brought the crowd to its feet with a dunk that Nachbar erased with free throws. A foul shot by Krstic put CSKA back ahead, 36-35, at halftime.

Third quarter: Gipson, Nachbar put Brose ahead

Nachbar nailed a rainbow jumper right after the break, but Milos Teodosic matched it with a driving layup. Gipson nailed a three-pointer. Krstic kept CSKA within 39-40. Krstic hit a jump hook and Weems beat the shot clock buzzer with a mid-range jumper for a 43-40 CSKA lead. Brose struggled to score and tried to run its offense through its best scorers, Anton Gavel and Nachbar, who buried a running jumper to keep the guests close. Weems kept scoring for CSKA and dropped in a mid-range jumper. A red-hot Nachbar erased it with a close basket. Khryapa scored in transition, but Ford dunked again for a 47-46 score. Weems downed another jumper off a timeout, but Nachbar dunked in traffic. CSKA kept running its offense through Weems, who scored in penetration. Gipson followed free throws with a three-pointer to give Brose a 51-53 edge at the end of the their quarter.

Fourth quarter: CSKA's 13-0 run seals the win

Weems sank a turnaround jumper early in the fourth quarter, but Gipson scored again for a 53-55 Brose lead. Kaun scored in transition and Weems bettered Gipson's driving basket with a three-pointer to provide another lead change, 58-57, with eight minutes left. Andrey Vorontsevich took over with a three-point play but an unstoppable Gipson kept the guests within 61-59. Brose found a new go-to guy in Karsten Tadda, who followed a fast break layup with an off-balance basket to give his team a 61-63 lead. Teodosic hit free throws and Krstic added 1-of-2 attempts to put CSKA back ahead, 64-63. Brose struggled to score right when it mattered most and Micov sank an open triple to make the guests call timeout at 67-63. Teodosic nailed more free throws and Khryapa added 4 unanswered points to break the game open, 73-63, with under three minutes to go. Brose went scoreless for more than five minutes and Micov capped a 13-0 run with a foul shot, enough for CSKA to round a valuable home win.