CSKA edges Madrid to stay undefeated

Reigning champion CSKA Moscow stayed perfect on the season after holding off visiting Real Madrid 91-90 in a dramatic clash in the Russian capital on Friday night. CSKA improved to 6-0 with its 14th straight EuroLeague win on its home floor, while Madrid dropped to 4-2. Key to victory was CSKA’s superb second quarter. Led by Nando De Colo, the hosts won the second stanza 32-12 to overcome an early double-digit deficit and build a lead they never relinquished. However, Madrid never went away, and slowly melted the deficit that reached 14 points early in the third quarter. The visitors had 3.1 seconds on the final possession to send the game into overtime, but Sergio Llull’s off-balance triple did not find the rim. De Colo paced the winners with 16 of his game-high 28 points in the second quarter. Milos Teodosic netted 15 and dished 6 assists, which brought his career-total to 978 assists and moved him into third place in all-time rankings. Nikita Kurbanov collected 13 points and 8 rebounds, and Kyle Hines added 10 in victory. Llull finished with 21 points and 7 assists for Madrid, Jaycee Carroll scored 13, Jonas Maciulis 11, and Gustavo Ayon contributed 10 points and 7 rebounds in defeat.