The Lokomotiv Kuban point guard decided the outcome of the game against Zenit in overtime (96:88), scoring 14 points in 5 extra minutes.
- 14 points in extra time. Did you expect this from yourself?
- Yeah, I did. I felt like I was struggling throughout the whole game, so I just knew I had to affect the game in some way. I knew I would, and the energy came out of nowhere. I always believe in myself. I just had to help the team. I knew I was passing and getting everybody involved, but I knew I had to step up. My teammates kept telling me, this is your time. I say, Miller time. I was tired, but just feeding off that energy.
- In this series, Zenit often switches to make you defend against bigger players. How do you manage to stop really big guys?
- I do it all my career. I’m used to it. I just use my strength and try to hit first.
- At the post-game press-conference, both Xavier Pascual and Sergey Karasev noticed that Loko made 44 free throws, and Zenit made just 23. What can you say in response?
- I think we were more aggressive, and they were fouling us. I guess the whistle was going towards us tonight, but it goes like that sometimes. In the first game, Dwayne Bacon shot 21 free throws individually.
- What moment is the most memorable for you today?
- When AC [Antonius Cleveland] hit the shot to end the third quarter, I felt like we needed something special for us to happen so we could change the game. I told him after he made that shot, I told everybody on the bench, we were going to win the game because of that shot.
- John Jenkins scored two very important 3-pointers today. Did you expect this?
- He's from Nashville, and I live in Nashville now, so I knew John when I was going to college. I was a freshman. I told them when we were signing John that he was a true professional. He's the first one in the gym, the last one to leave the gym. Him doing that helped save the day too for us. He made two big shots. He didn't play the whole game, he didn't play the last game. Just staying ready.
- Kirill Yelatontsev and Antonius Cleveland received awards before the game. Did this fact motivate the team or maybe this was a distraction?
- That’s great! Congratulations to Yela and AC! I know it’s individual awards but it also feels kind of like team awards. Because these guys make everyone around a bit better.
- Does Loko have some kind of advantage now, maybe a psychological one?
- We believe so. I think we did what we were supposed to do. They won two at home, but we won two at home. It's 0-0 again. Now we just have to stay focused and build from this. Like I said, it's going to be a dogfight these last two or three games. I don't know. I think we're ready though.
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