Khimki Moscow Region defeated UNICS Kazan at home, 87-70 (27-16, 20-26, 21-18, 19-10).
Top Scorers
Khimki: Nobel Boungou-Colo (19 + 5 reb), Alexey Shved (14), Marko Todorovic (12 + 7 reb), Jacob Pullen (13)
UNICS: Quino Colom (15 + 9 ast + 6 reb), Keith Langford (15 + 5 reb), Artsiom Parakhouski (11)
Turning Point I
Trailing 27-16 at the end of the 1st quarter, UNICS held Khimki scoreless for the first 3:48 of the 2nd, pulling within five on 3-pointers from Quino Colom and Keith Langford.
That was the margin, 47-42, heading into halftime.
Stat
20-3 – Khimki enjoyed a 17-point edge on points off turnovers, even though UNICS only committed five more turnovers (13-8).
Turning Point II
UNICS stayed close for much of the 3rd quarter and only trailed by five, 65-60, after a Langford layup with 30 seconds remaining.
But Alexey Shved shifted the momentum on the final play of the quarter, draining a 3-pointer over Latavious Williams at the buzzer to make it an eight-point game.
UNICS never got closer than eight in the final period. Jacob Pullen erased any lingering doubt midway through the 4th, converting a four-point play to put Khimki on top by 14, 80-66.
Star
Nobel Boungou-Colo. The Congolese big man scored an efficient 19 on 6-8 shooting (3-4 from downtown) to go with five rebounds.
Khimki head coach Dusko Ivanovic:
– We knew what to do, which is why we won. I’m satisfied with the team’s play on defense. I’ve said over and over again, that defense is the key to success. Why did Shved only play 15 minutes? He picked up his 3rd foul really quickly. In general, I rely on him to pull out tough games, and decide the outcome when it’s close. Today we were in the lead and it didn’t make sense to keep him on the court.
UNICS head coach Evgeny Pashutin:
– The team was tired after the game against Fenerbahce, but that’s not an excuse. We played terrible defense in the 3rd and 4th quarters. Giving up 90 points to Khimki at home and hoping for a win is tough. On offense, we also made mistakes, including 10 misses at the free-throw line. That might not seem like a big deal, but that’s what allowed Khimki to get the momentum. Khimki was better today.
Up Next
Khimki: November 13 vs. Enisey
UNICS: November 20 vs. VEF
Snapshot
