Mike Moore hit a three-pointer on the very first attack. A steal by Vsevolod Ishchenko, two more Moore points, a turnover by Ivan Ukhov, a layup by Patrick Miller–and in the 1st minute, CSKA had to call a timeout, 7:0! The visitors tried to start a comeback from beyond the arc, but Kirill Temirov and Ivan Samoylenko (he substituted Ishchenko, who quickly picked up 2 fouls) showed they were also capable of shooting from afar–19:9 in the 5th minute. Moore blocked Ukhov, and Miller made 2+1, that’s how Loko were up 13. Last game hero Casper Ware was heavily targeted: his shots were blocked twice (by Samoylenko and Jeremiah Martin). But Livio Jean-Charles was more difficult to control, and the Muscovites began to slowly close the gap. Anton Kvitkovskikh hit a three-pointer, while CSKA searched for points in close contact and pulled within “–6” on free throws. However, Vince Hunter had the final say in the opening period, 29:21.
At the start of the 2nd quarter, CSKA made a run, repelling 2 of our attacks and converting 3 of their own, getting close by the 12th minute, 29:27. Hunter‘s steal was a big help, resulting in 2 Moore points. The game became a one-two possession affair. CSKA was more successful rebounding during this stretch, and Lokomotiv quickly exhausted its foul limit, but continued to hold the lead for a while: Ishchenko hit a three-pointer, Miller executed his trademark mid-range jumper. However, in the 20th minute, the opponent took the lead–40:41 after Antonius Cleveland‘s layup. Then Martin was whistled for a traveling, and Melo Trimble continued to make free throws in the semifinal series without a single miss: 6-of-6 by the big break and 24-of-24 over 4 games – 40:43.
It was crucial to start the 2nd half well, and Lokomotiv succeeded: Miller scored 5 points in a row, Moore made a perimeter shot, Miller added 2+1 more, and most importantly, the defense began to resemble its 1st-quarter self, 51:48 at the 24-minute mark. But then, CSKA also stepped up its defense: two our consecutive possessions ended with the 24-second buzzer sounding, a couple of good shots went wide, Konovalov grabbed an offensive rebound but was blocked–we couldn’t score again for the rest of the quarter, and the guests, albeit slowly, were gaining ground, 51:56.
Near the end of the 31st minute, Moore‘s three-pointer finally broke Lokomotiv’s scoring drought. However, our team’s next 4 shots (all from beyond the arc) were off-target, and by the end of that stretch, CSKA was ahead by double digits, 54:65. Martin returned to the game and scored 5 points in a row, followed by Miller adding 2 a little later, bringing the score slightly back to 61:67. But Anton Astapkovich hit a three-pointer on the very next play, Martin committed a turnover, and Ukhov immediately added 3 more points for the Moscow team, making it 61:73.
Lokomotiv resumed their pursuit: 3 successful defensive plays, two points each from Hunter and Moore, and 1 of 2 free throws from Ishchenko. CSKA called a timeout at 66:73 with 2.43 remaining. Play resumed, and Ukhov managed to sink a difficult mid-range shot just as the buzzer sounded. Ishchenko was fouled and made both free throws that tine. Moreover, Ukhov was called for an offensive foul. Very soon, Miller was fouled–but missed both attempts from the line, and the score remained 68:75.
CSKA tried to attack as slow as possible–and ultimately violated the 24-second rule, with 1:16 remaining in the game. Lokomotiv quickly set up Miller for a three-pointer, which missed, but we got the rebound. Moore got open at the arc, received the ball, and also missed. We nearly grabbed a second offensive rebound, but Cleveland prevailed; Hunter fouled, and the team was down “–9” after Cleveland‘s free throws. Martin quickly made up 2 points, Moore made a steal, took another three-pointer, and missed again—what bad luck. Ware immediately brought it back to “–9”, Kvitkovskikh missed a three-pointer, and Krasnodar tried to stretch out the remaining 42 seconds with tactical fouls, but the opponent showed no mercy from the free throw line.
Lokomotiv has no room for error; now we have to win 3 semifinal games in a row. The next one is on May 23rd in Moscow. We believe in the team!