Before the game, Patrick Miller received the MELBET Best Lokomotiv Player in November award.
The game started at a high tempo, but Lokomotiv’s players struggled to score, and after 3-pointers from Melo Trimble and Ivan Ukhov, CSKA took an 8:2 lead. Livio Jean-Charles had picked up two fouls by that moment. Vince Hunter scored a dunk, Vsevolod Ishchenko added a 3-pointer, but Loko still couldn’t stop Trimble, who got 12 points by the 8th minute, and his team was ahead 8:20.
Jeremiah Martin entered the game, rose to the challenge and scored 4 points in a row, Ishchenko added 2 more, but the quarter still ended with a double-digit gap – 14:24 in CSKA’s favor. It’s worth noting that Luka Mitrović, who replaced Jean-Charles, had also picked up two fouls by this point.
The start of the 2nd quarter was similar to the 1st: a high tempo again, and much more accurate CSKA’s execution, allowing them to make another run, 2:7 this time. Hunter‘s layup and Ishchenko‘s 5 straight points by the 17th minute brought the gap back to “–10”, 23:33. But then Trimble performed another strong sequence: an assist to Jean-Charles, a steal, and 3 points on a fast break, forcing Lokomotiv to call a timeout at 25:40.
The Krasnodar team’s offense was pretty bad in the first half: 13 turnovers and 33% shooting from the field. However, the quarter ended on a good note: Mike Moore hit a 3-pointer right at the buzzer, making it 30:42.
The locker room conversation clearly benefited the home team: Martin‘s accurate free throws, a quick passing that set up Ishchenko for an open shot, and, perhaps even more importantly, the impeccable defensive work of the Loko players. When Miller scored 2+1, the stands really got going. (The automatic counting system recorded 6,110 spectators – a new season record for our arena!) And soon Moore sent CSKA to a timeout with a long-range shot, 40:42!
Trimble responded with another 3-pointer (his 22nd point by the 24th minute!), and Ukhov added 3 more – the margin extended to 8 points, but at least Lokomotiv looked clearly more confident than at the start of the game. Soon after, Moore hit his 3rd 3-pointer. CSKA quickly scored 6 points in a row, then Jean-Charles started scoring repeatedly, and by the 29th minute it was 51:66 on the scoreboard. But once again the end of the quarter was taken by the home team: 2 points by B.J. Johnson, 3 by Martin – 56:66 at the 3rd break.
After the game resumed, CSKA tried to run away, but Johnson responded with a well-timed 3-pointer. Anton Kvitkovskikh immediately made a steal, allowing Ishchenko to dunk, 62:69. Trimble was soon called for an unsportsmanlike foul, and Kvitkovskikh, with two trips to the free throw line (he was fouled again after retaining possession), brought the game within one possession, 68:70.
CSKA scored four points in a row, to which Kvitkovskikh responded with a long-range shot. On the next attack, Jean-Charles violated a three-second rule, and Ishchenko tied the game, 74:74 with four minutes remaining – something that was hard to believe in the 1st half!
Jean-Charles‘ free throws and Anton Astapkovich‘s midrange shot put the visitors ahead by 4 points. But Loko put up a strong defense, snatching a rebound, and Miller hit a 3-pointer at the second attempt. Johnson then forced Jean-Charles to make an offensive foul, and Miller scored from beyond the arc to give the home team the lead, 80:78!
After Trimble‘s miss, the referees initially gave the ball out of bounds to CSKA, but Anton Yudin requested a video challenge – and won it! Martin missed, but a few seconds later stole the ball from Antonius Cleveland and increased Loko’s lead by another point from the free throw line, 81:78 at the start of the 40th minute. Trimble also hit 1 of 2 free throws. Miller‘s isolation failed, and Trimble tied the game with 25 seconds left to play.
Lokomotiv began playing their offense in a way to leave CSKA no time to respond. After Miller‘s shot, the ball bounced around the hoop—and Johnson put it in just as the buzzer sounded! Six thousand spectators jumped to their feet with cheers–but the game wasn’t over yet! After watching the replay, the referees said that there were still 0.6 seconds left to play.
What could be accomplished in that time? It turned out that it was some: Nikita Kurbanov threw a quarterback pass to Jean-Charles, who launched a hook shot into our basket and scored! Did the player release the ball before the buzzer? Yes, the referees said after another video review. Overtime.
Overtime began with Kvitkovskikh picking up his 5th foul, Trimble scoring both free throws, and Martin responding with only one of his two free throws in the next episode. For a while, the game swung back and forth between a 1-point lead and a 3-point lead in CSKA’s favor. But with the score of 88:89, Hunter stole the ball from Trimble, and Johnson, on a fast break, unleashed all the desire to play he’d pent up during his 10 months of forced absence.
Soon, Mitrović was fouled, and scored 1 of 2 attempts from the free throw line. Martin found himself open at the arc and missed. Casper Ware also missed his long shot, but Kurbanov grabbed the rebound and put the ball back, 90:92. Then, CSKA made it as difficult as possible for Hunter to shoot from under the hoop, and our player missed. Lokomotiv played a good defense, but not good enough: with two seconds left in the possession, the opponent had to come up with something on the throw-in. And they did it again! From afar, Trimble scored what turned out to be the final points of today. The 5-point gap did not change in the remaining 17 seconds.
Our team is now heading out on an away tour, where they’ll play BETCITY PARMA (December 14), Zenit (December 17), and Pari NN (December 21). Our next home game is on December 25, and it’s again against CSKA, this time as part of the inter-season Winline Basket Cup.
Be sure to come and cheer us on. Those who were in the stands today won’t forget this game for a long time. We’ll only get stronger as we go, especially with your support. See you at Basket Hall!