Overview
- Samara surged ahead 33–20 in the opening quarter in Nizhny Novgorod, setting this season’s VTB record for first-quarter points by a road team.
- The game ended 79–71 with quarter splits of 33–20, 14–16, 27–17, 5–18 in favor of the visitors.
- Evgeny Minchenko led Samara with 24 points, and Danila Pokhodyaev logged a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
- Isaiah Washington topped Nizhny Novgorod with 16 points.
- Samara captured its first win of the regular season after 16 straight losses this year and 18 dating to last season, with Nizhny hosting Parma on Dec. 29 and Samara visiting Yenisey on Jan. 7.