MOSCOW - Trajan Langdon scored 17 points and Tomas Van Den Spiegel added 16
to lead CSKA Moscow to a 94-75 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in an
exhibition game Saturday.
 Los Angeles Clippers' Tim Thomas,
left, vies with CSKA Moscow's Nikita Kurbanov, background, during the NBA
Europe Live Tour, match played in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2006.
CSKA won 94-75. [AP] |
Center Chris
Kaman had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Corey Maggette scored 13 points for the
Clippers, one of four NBA teams taking part in a European preseason tour and the
first to play in Russia since the Atlanta Hawks in 1988.
"I'd love to come back and play these guys when we're definitely in shape ¡ª
to show them what we can do," Maggette said.
It was the second victory for a European team on the NBA Europe Live tour. FC
Barcelona beat the Philadelphia 76ers 104-99 on Thursday in Barcelona.
"Beating a team from the NBA is not a thing that happens often," said
Theodoros Papaloukas, who had 10 points and nine assists for CSKA.
Los Angeles forward Elton Brand said he "definitely (had) flashbacks of
Papaloukas," who had 12 assists when Greece beat the United States in the
semifinals of the world championships.
"He's a great player," Brand said.
CSKA, the Euroleague champions, grabbed the early lead before the Clippers
went ahead 24-23 on Maggette's score. But CSKA regained the advantage with the
next basket and never fell behind again, steadily widening their lead and making
it 52-39 when Anton Ponkrashov scored just before halftime.
"We knew what they could do, and unfortunately we weren't able to stop it,"
Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said.
Minutes after the break, former Duke star Langdon hit two straight 3-pointers
in quick succession to put his team 16 points ahead and CSKA extended its lead
to 65-45 with five minutes left in the quarter.
Tim Thomas made it 65-48 with a 3-pointer to start off seven unanswered
points for the Clippers, but David Andersen scored for CSKA to help the Russian
team to a 73-57 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Clippers scored the first five points in the final quarter, including a
3-pointer from Maggette, but CSKA did not allow Los Angeles within 10 points
again.
Dunleavy said the game was a good test for his team ahead of the new season.
"It tells us how far away we are," he said.
Matjaz Smodis and former Washington Wizards player David Vanterpool each had
14 points for CSKA, while Thomas scored 10 for Los Angeles. Former CSKA player
Yaroslav Korolev played briefly for the Clippers at the end of the game but did
not score.
The Clippers have been in Moscow since Oct. 1 for a training camp. They beat
BC Khimki 98-91 on Friday night.
CSKA's Italian coach, Ettore Messina, said the team must "stay extremely
humble" after the win.