Cooper leads Enisey to win in Astana

Enisey (Russia) defeated Astana (Kazakhstan) on the road, 95-86. The visitors built a big lead in the 3rd quarter thanks to inspired play from Donell Cooper (23 assists) and Terrico White (33 points) and had little trouble closing out the win. Enisey takes revenge for its loss to Astana in Krasnoyarsk and snaps a four-game losing streak.

Intro
These two teams played a terrific game earlier in the season as the Kazakh visitors pulled out a razor-thin 83-81 victory. The disappointing loss at home gave Enisey extra motivation ahead of the trip to Kazakhstan. The Russians hoped to take revenge and snap a four-game losing streak.

Stevan Karadzic's men came out strong. Enisey did a good job of playing paint defense, while Cooper and White ran the fast break. Cooper handed out eight assists in the 1st quarter and White scored 11 to keep give the visitors a 24-19 lead.

The Kazakh team put extra emphasis on stopping Cooper and White in the 2nd quarter and ultimately succeeded. Though Enisey led most of the quarter, Astana limited them to just 16 points and took the advantage into halftime thanks to a 7-0 run from Nik Caner-Medley and Pat Calathes.

The visitors' strategy in the second half was very simple and the team executed perfectly. Cooper either ran the pick-n-roll with Lesic or Kikanovic or got the ball to White and let him score on his own. As a result, Enisey scored a lot of easy points and started to pull away. By the end of the 3rd quarter, Cooper had set the league record for assists with 20, while Enisey held a double-digit lead, 71-58.

Turning Point
No matter how hard Mahalbasic and Caner-Medley tried to turn the game around, Astana couldn't get within striking distance. Enisey continued to dominate the paint, leading by double digits until the final minute of the game when the outcome had already been decided. Enisey snaps it losing streak with a 95-86 win, while Donell Cooper earns his place in VTB United League history.

Star of the Game
Donell Cooper. The league assists leader entering today's game, Cooper was sensational running the pick-n-roll and spotting open teammates. The point guard kept Enisey's offense humming all afternoon and ended the game with 13 points, six rebounds and 23 assists.

Stat of the Game
23 - number of assists by Donell Cooper. That's a new league record!

Quotes
Astana head coach Alexandar Trifunovich:
- Enisey absolutely deserved to win. Our opponent had more desire and energy. A lot of things didn't work for us today. This is the first time this season we've played so poorly. We need to figure out what happened.

Enisey head coach Stevan Karadzic:
- I think that our team played well in the second half of the game. We had a chance in the first to take a lead against Astana, but there were mistakes. Our opponent scored easily on fast breaks. In the second half we got better on defense and on offense, which is what allowed us to win.

Top Performers
Astana: Nik Caner-Medley - 31 points, 11 rebounds; Rasid Mahalbasic - 21 points, five rebounds; Jerry Johnson - 15 points, 14 assists.

Enisey: Terrico White - 33 points, seven rebounds; Sava Lesic - 19 points; Artem Yakovenko - 17 points; Donell Cooper - 13 points, six rebounds, 23 assists.