«Astana» Astana, Kazakhstan vs. «Zenit» St. Petersburg, Russia

Zenit defeated Astana in Karagandy, 93-71. The home team started strong, but Zenit's bench, led by Ryan Toolson and Alexander Karpukhin, quickly established control, helping the visitors to a comfortable win.

Recap
The 1st quarter resembled Zenit's recent visit to Tbilisi. St. Petersbug struggled to score early, allowing Astana to go on top midway through the opening period.

But Zenit had options, getting back-to-back 3's from Janis Timma to seize the momentum. Karpukhin and Toolson added to the lead off the bench, giving the visitors a 23-12 advantage through 10 minutes.

Toolson and Karpukhin continued to shine in the second period, combining for 14 points to put Zenit on top, 48-32, at halftime.

Ramunas Butautas's club failed to threaten in the second half. Astana cut the deficit to 10 points several times, but never got any closer. Timma and Toolson were too efficient, squashing Astana's comeback attempts with deadly shooting.

Zenit cruises to a 22-point win and improves to 15-4, 3rd in the standings.

Star Player
Ryan Toolson. St. Petersburg's leading scorer was very efficient, pouring in 20 points on 8-12 shooting in just 24 minutes.

Stat of the Game
49-23 - Zenit's big edge in bench scoring decided the outcome.