By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Nizhny Novgorod was more than impressive, making a case against Anadolu Efes about its will to get into the play offs. Led by Taylor Rochestie (19 p., 15 as., 1 turnover) and Artsiom Parakhouski (27 p., 6 rebs) the Russian prevailed almost by 20 points (109-90).
A double double was also registered by Trey Thompkins (21 p., 10 r.), while Efes couldn’t keep up with the rhythm of the hosts. The game was practically decided from the first half, when Nizhny scored 65 points, the second best ever half performance in Euroleague’s history. Moreover, they had the third best ranking (142) in a Euroleague game this season after the two brilliant games of Real Madrid against them (158) and Sassari (151). Nizhny σshot 68% in field goal, the best performance for the season.
Efes‘ defense allowed 109 points, while in the first 13 games of the season the same number 70 points per game. Furthermore, this is the worst defensive night for the Turkish team, since Valencia scored against them 107 in 18/2/2004 (even after an extra period).
This was also a career night for Taylor Rochestie. The American guard made his first double double in a Euroleague game with 19 points and 15 assists! It’s an assist record for a Euroleague Top 16 game. The previous one belonged to Teodosic with 14 and also Rochestie tied the record for most assist in 40 minutes, because Marcus Williams has 17, but after two overtimes.