In an overtime thriller that came down to the final seconds, CSKA Moscow took the battle between Turkish Airlines EuroLeague powerhouses by edging Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 77-78 on the road on Wednesday.
Clyburn lifts CSKA past Fenerbahce
Game Report
1 min read
In an overtime thriller that came down to the final seconds, CSKA Moscow took the battle between Turkish Airlines EuroLeague powerhouses by edging Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul 77-78 on the road on Wednesday. The result left both teams with 2-1 records. Will Clyburn led the winners with 26 points and Mike James added 14 points and 6 assists for CSKA. Nando De Colo led Fenerbahce with 21 points before being ejected with two technical fouls. Jarell Eddie added 18 on 6-for-6 three-point shooting, Lorenzo Brown had 16 points plus 8 assists and Jan Vesely scored 11 for Fenerbahce, which led 69-66 in the final minute of regulation and 77-75 in the final seconds of overtime. Clyburn sent the game to the extra period with a three-pointer and also provided the go-ahead layup-plus-foul that allowed CSKA to win the game.
Joel Bolomboy scored in the post and Darrun Hilliard added a three-pointer post to get CSKA going. De Colo buried consecutive jumpers, igniting a 6-0 run that Brown capped with a backdoor slam. Toko Shengelia dunked off a steal and Johannes Voigtmann bettered Edgaras Ulanovas's fastbreak layup with a triple for an 8-10 CSKA lead. A close basket by James and an alley-oop dunk by Vesely fixed the score at 10-12 after 10 minutes. Dyshawn Pierre dunked to restore a 14-12 Fenerbahce lead until in the second quarter. Voigtmann and James tried to change things for CSKA, but Eddie downed consecutive three-pointers to keep the hosts ahead, 20-18. Brown took over with a coast-to-coast layup and improved on Shengelia's dunk with a bomb from beyond the arc. De Colo followed a layup with a jumper, but Clyburn struck twice from downtown for a 29-27 CSKA deficit. Daniel Hackett joined the three-point shootout in a 0-8 run that Clyburn capped with a close basket. Ulanovas scored down low to bring the hosts within 31-32 at halftime.
Clyburn downed his third three-pointer immediately after the break. Brown answered from beyond the arc. Bolomboy and Vesely traded layups before James restored a 38-42 CSKA lead. Clyburn stayed on fire with a dunk and a driving layup, but a tip-in by Vesely and three-pointers by Ali Muhammed and Eddie tied it at 46-46. Voigtmann joined the three-point shootout, but De Colo made free throws and beat the third-quarter buzzer with a triple that restored a 51-49 Fenerbahce lead after 30 minutes. De Colo took over with a driving layup and a couple of jumpers early in the fourth quarter to make it 57-52. Nikita Kurbanov sank a three-pointer and Bolomboy matched De Colo's layup with a close basket. James tied the game at 59-59 and Eddie and Kurbanov exchanged triples. Shengelia put CSKA ahead, 62-64, with 2:12 left. After Eddie buried his fifth bomb from downtown, Clyburn answered with a driving layup and Vesely dunked for a 67-66 score with 37.6 seconds left. Brown hit free throws and Clyburn sent the game to overtime with a clutch three-pointer, 69-69, as Brown missed from downtown seconds before the buzzer.
Bolomboy scored off the baseline early in overtime and James added a floater to make it 69-73. Eddie buried another three-pointer, but Hackett sank foul shots for a 72-75 score in the next-to-last minute. Vesely split attempts and Brown tied it again, 75-75, with 56 seconds remaining. Brown sank free throws, but Clyburn did better with a layup-plus-foul for a 77-78 CSKA lead with 11 seconds to go. Brown missed a driving layup attempt down the stretch.
Game Leaders
Pivotal performer
Will Clyburn proved he is already at the same level he was when he was chosen as the 2019 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four - and that his ACL injury belongs to the past. He finished the game with 26 points - just 1 less than his career-high - plus 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals for a PIR of 27.
Game-changing moment
Fenerbahce led 57-52 midway through the fourth quarter and CSKA was running out of options on offense. The guests found a go-to guy in Nikita Kurbanov, who buried a couple of three-pointers and got help from James and Shengelia to put CSKA ahead, 62-64, in crunch time. Kurbanov did not score more, but stepped up at the right time to give Clyburn the chance to win the game with his late heroics.
Did you know?
Eddie shot 6 for 6 on three-point shots, tying the second-best mark in EuroLeague history for most triples without a miss. The record belongs to Saulius Stombergas, who hit 9-of-9 in Game 1 of the 2001 EuroLeague semifinals for Tau Ceramica against AEK Athens. Eddie joins 13 other players who have made 6 of 6 three-point shots; the last one to do so was Mike James with Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz against Real Madrid on April 1, 2016.