CSKA Moscow sweeps Crvena Zvezda to return to Final Four

CSKA Moscow is headed to its fifth straight Final Four and 13th in the last 14 years after holding off a late charge to defeat Crvena Zvezda Telekom Belgrade 71-78 at Kombank Arena on Monday in Game 3 on the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Playoffs. CSKA swept the best-of-five series to secure its place in Berlin. Zvezda gave all it had in the fourth quarter in rallying from a 12-point deficit to get within 1 point with less than four minutes remaining, but threes on CSKA’s next three possessions by Nikita Kurbanov, Cory Higgins and Nando De Colo clinched the victory. De Colo finished with 20 points, while Milos Teodosic totaled 12 points and 7 assists and Kurbanov also scored 12. Quincy Miller led the hosts with 15 points, Vladimir Stimac added 12 and Nemanja Dangubic 11. The loss ended a historic season for Zvezda, which reached the Euroleague playoffs for the first time.