Antonov leads Nizhny to Game 3 win at home 0

Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) squeaked out a win over Zalgiris (Lithuania) at home, 60-59, in Game 3 of their VTB United League Playoffs quarterfinal series. Zoran Lukic’s team made multiple comebacks against its famous opponent to grab an upset win in front of the home crowd. Game 4 is tomorrow, May 19, in Nizhny Novgorod.

Intro
Game 3 picked up where Game 2 in Kaunas left off, with neither team yielding an inch, but visiting Zalgiris gradually began to pull away midway through the first quarter. The Lithuanians did an excellent job in transition offense, while Nizhny Novgorod dealt with turnover problems. Mindaugas Kuzminskas had three dunks in the opening period, while Oliver Lafayette got hot from outside to give Zalgiris a 22-13 lead. Dijon Thompson, however, helped Nizhny close the gap by the end of the first period, 22-19.

The Black-Whites, thanks to a pair of Evgeny Baburin 3-pointers, took a 27-26 lead, but Zalgiris once again pulled ahead midway through the period. The Kaunas lead reached seven, 38-31, with 3:28 to play in the half, before Nizhny Novgorod clawed back to within four points, 41-37, heading to the break.

Kaunas raced to a 10-point lead in the third quarter, led by veteran center Ksistof Lavrinovic. Nizhny looked lost in Zalgiris’s zone for much of the period, but still managed to charge to within four points, 55-51 at the end of the quarter. The breakthrough came when Zoran Lukic had his men shift the focus on offense from the perimeter to the paint.

The fourth quarter belonged to Nizhny Novgorod’s defense as Zalgiris was held scoreless for the first seven minutes. The home team didn’t shine on offense, either, but did just enough to make it a three-point lead, 58-55, on Semen Antonov’s dunk at the 3:42 mark.

Turning Point
Robertas Javtokas gave Zalgiris a one-point advantage on two layups, the second coming with 2:38 left in the game. A minute later, Antonov slammed the ball home to make it a one-point Nizhny lead, 60-59. That proved enough against Zalgiris’s anemic offense. Despite holding the final possession, Zalgiris couldn’t find the winner, as Lafayette’s lay-up attempt missed the mark and Nizhny Novgorod extended the best-of-five series to a Game 4.

Star of the Game
Semen Antonov. The Nizhny Novgorod captain made an excellent leader on the floor. His modest stats don’t reflect the forward’s effort and motivation today. He also had the game-winning dunk with 1:40 to play in the game.

Stat of the Game
4 – Zalgiris’s point total in the fourth quarter.

Top Performers
Nizhny Novgorod: Semen Antonov – 13 points; Evgeny Baburin – 11 points; Semen Shashkov – seven points, five rebounds.

Zalgiris: Oliver Lafayette – 17 points; Mindaugas Kuzminskas – 12 points, 10 rebounds; Ksistof Lavrinovic – 10 points.