By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Mike James once more was dominating with 20 points, six rebounds, seven assists, and three steals and CSKA Moscow cruised on the way to an 83-65 win over Zenit St. Petersburg.
Darrun Hilliard added 13 points, Nikola Milutinov also had 13, Will Clyburn (photo) had 11, and Toko Shengelia also scored 10 as the hosts were leading from wire to wire against a team that simply couldn’t keep up.
“We really played good defense for 40 minutes”, said Milutinov. “We hustled, we played hard, and we didn’t allow them many easy points. I am most happy that we are playing well lately, and we are really looking like a team. From game to game, we are improving and playing better, so I am happier about team success than I am about my personal performance.”
CSKA had a 45-31 halftime advantage and kept its distance until the end. The Army Team had led even by 23 points (83-62) in what ended up being a pretty easy night.
CSKA was so dominant that coach Dimitris Itoudis admitted that he hopes that this trend continues: “When we play defense and share the ball, we’re really good. They’re a good team. They play defense and run a lot of stuff. I think us sharing the ball, making some shots, and controlling the rebounds made the difference. I think we’re just playing well. We’re in a nice rhythm. I hope we can keep it going.”
Kevin Pangos (14 p.) and Alex Poythress (12 p.) pushed Zenit in the third quarter, the guests cut the lead to seven (51-44), but that was the best they could do. KC Rivers also scored 12 points for the losing side.
It was the 10th straight win of CSKA Moscow that leads the EuroLeague standings with a 12-3 record, while Zenit remains on playoffs course with 8-5.