Euroleague Basketball: Lokomotiv Krasnodar stun Barcelona to force playoff tie-breaker
Russians Lokomotiv Krasnodar are on the verge of reaching their maiden Euroleague Final Four after a 92-80 overtime win at Barcelona tied their best-of-five quarter-final at 2-2 on Thursday.
The series will move to Russia for the decisive match on Tuesday after rampant Lokomotiv outscored Barcelona 16-4 in the additional five minutes of a rip-roaring contest in the Palau Blaugrana.
The Russian side's American power forward Anthony Randolph was at the heart of their success, scoring eight points and dishing out an assist in an 11-0 overtime run which forced Barca into submission.
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Randolph finished with a game-high 28 points and playmaker Malcolm Delaney added 17 for the visitors, who had never previously progressed to the knockout stage of Europe's premier club competition.
Juan Carlos Navarro, the Euroleague's all-time leading scorer, forced overtime with a difficult mid-range shot with two seconds remaining. He led Barcelona with 19 points but fizzled out at crunch time.
The winners will join Fenerbahce Istanbul, CSKA Moscow and Spaniards Laboral Kutxa Vitoria in the 13 to 15 May Final Four in Berlin.
Fenerbahce, who knocked out holders Real Madrid, clash with Laboral in the opening semi-final while CSKA will lock horns with either Lokomotiv or Barcelona.
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