Nizhny Novgorod defeated Enisey Krasnoyarsk at home, 79-64 (32-11, 16-16, 24-19, 7-18).
Top Scorers
Nizhny Novgorod: Kendrick Perry (21 + 6 reb), Vladimir Dragicevic (18 + 9 reb), Evgeny Baburin (11 + 5 reb), Dmitry Uzinsky (11)
Enisey: DeAngelo Harrison (11 + 9 reb)
Story
Nizhny Novgorod obliterated Enisey in the 1st quarter, outscoring the visitors by 21 points to cruise to a second-straight win and its eighth over the last 10 games.
Dmitry Uzinsky drained a 3-pointer to open the scoring for Nizhny, which went on to make five from beyond the arc in the 1st quarter against a hapless Enisey defense.
.@BC_NN проводит невероятную первую четверть против @BC_Enisey: 32:11, 5 из 5 издали 👌
Amazing 1st for Niznhy Novgorod against Enisey: 32-11, 5/5 from 3 👌 pic.twitter.com/D9BNeRSkbi
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) March 8, 2019
There were few positives for the visitors in this game. Only one player, DeAngelo Harrison, scored in double figures with only a late rally keeping the score somewhat respectable.
Enisey’s assist total of eight may have been the most shocking stat from the evening. Desperately needing a win to stay in the hunt for a postseason berth, Krasnoyarsk came out flat on offense and never recovered, recording more turnovers (10) than assists.
Kendrick Perry followed up his 34-point outing in the Champions League playoffs with a game-high 21, including 3-5 from beyond the arc. Vladimir Dragicevic, meanwhile, finished one rebound shy of a double-double.
The victory helps Nizhny improve to 10-8, a remarkable turnaround after starting the season 2-6. The Russian club now trails Zenit (10-7) by only half a game for 7th place.
Enisey remains in 10th at 6-12, two games behind both Avtodor and Kalev.
Stat
32-11 – the score in the 1st quarter essentially decided the outcome of the game.
Quotes
Nizhny Novgorod head coach Zoran Lukic: “To be honest, I expected a more physical game with Enisey than we ended up getting. I’m not sure the reason. That’s something to ask them. We had an easy time getting a 30-point lead, but then we had some trouble. We gave time to players who’ve had fewer opportunities on the court and risked inserting our injured players, so they could get a bit of feel for the game.
Up next is the return game in the Champions League playoffs, so I hope our 4th quarter vs. Enisey makes the team understand we can’t play like that. Nonetheless, today’s win was very important for us.”
Enisey head coach Oleg Okulov: “We got off to a terrible start. We didn’t execute the game plan and didn’t the necessary things. It’s telling that we only had four assists in the first three quarters and just as many in the final quarter. Our guards did not manage the game. Instead, they turned it into chaos. Nizhny Novgorod took advantage of the situation and we had a tough time coming back. We tried everybody on the roster and were essentially playing for pride in the final quarter.”
Photos
