By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
CSKA Moscow beat Nizhny Novgorod, 79-75, in the deciding Game 3 of the VTB United League Playoffs Quarterfinals series.
Daniel Hackett scored 22 points in a challenging situation for the team coached by Dimitris Itoudis. Tornike Shengelia produced 12 points, Will Clyburn 11 points, and Johannes Voigtmann 10 points. Artem Komolov dropped 22 points for Nizhny Novgorod.
Stops down the stretch were necessary to protect a slim lead and win the best-of-three series after an early double-digit cushion evaporated. The guests exited instead after making a strong bid to eliminate CSKA.
The winning side will take on top-seed Zenit Saint-Petersburg in the semifinals contested in a best-of-five series. Lokomotiv Kuban and UNICS Kazan will face each other in the series between the second and third seeds, planned to begin on Tuesday.