CSKA Moscow, Russia vs. «Astana» Astana, Kazakhstan

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Highlights

CSKA Opens New Year With Blowout

CSKA defeated Astana at home, 102-67. The visitors failed to make it competitive, falling behind by 10 points in the opening period and trailing by 25 at halftime. CSKA has now won 11 straight in the VTB United League.

Recap
Astana showed no fear in the opening minutes, playing aggressive defense and forcing several turnovers. The Kazakhs even led briefly, 14-13, midway through the 1st quarter.

CSKA quickly responded. Nando De Colo compensated for his turnovers by scoring the ball and leading a deadly fast break attack. The 2nd quarter belonged to Dmitry Kulagin, who scored 13 points in nine minutes, including one huge alley-oop. At halftime, the Red-Blues enjoyed a commanding 54-29 advantage.

CSKA continued to control the tempo in the second half. Ramunas Butautas's men were better on offense, but failed to slow down Moscow's versatile attack. CSKA even played an all-Russian five in the 4th quarter, which continued to build on the lead and helped the team crack the century mark in the win.

Star Player
Vitaly Fridzon. The Russian national team sniper is impossible to stop once he gets hot. Fridzon shot a terrific percentage from the field against Astana, finishing with a game-high 19 points and also recorded three steals.

Stat of the Game
36 - combined number of turnovers (Astana - 20, CSKA - 16). Both teams struggled to take care of the ball, but the Army Men did a much better job taking advantage of the opponent's mistakes, scoring 21 points off turnovers to Astana's 11.

Quotes
CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis:
- Congratulations to the team on another win in the league. Thank you to the fans, who came out in force today and supported us to create an excellent atmosphere. Once again, Happy New Year to everyone! I hope everyone has a healthy, happy year!

Astana head coach Ramunas Butautas:
- Of course, we were not the favorites. CSKA is a team of the highest quality, which it proves in the Euroleague. We played as well as we could today, given our ability. I'd point out one fact: we committed 20 turnovers. A team like CSKA will punish you immediately for that.