Bayern downs Khimki, goes atop Group F

FC Bayern Munich used a big third quarter en route to a resounding 90-74 win over visiting Khimki Moscow Region on Wednesday night at the Audi Dome. Bayern improved to 2-0 in Group F for sole possession of first place, while Khimki dropped to 1-1 and a share of second. Khimki led for most of the first half, but Bayern scored 31 points in the third quarter and led by as many as 17 points in the final moments. Bryce Taylor scored 15 points, while Vladimir Lucic and Devin Booker each scored 14 points. Reggie Redding added 13, and Danilo Barthel had 10 points in victory. Jacob Pullen netted 17, and Alexey Shved had 16 points in defeat.

Khimki had a good start to the game, with Marko Todorovic scoring the first 5 points and Shved the next 8, including a pair of three-pointers that opened a 7-13 lead. Max Kleber and Lucic answered with back-to-back threes, but Pullen and Stanislav Ilnitskiy made sure Khimki was in front 18-21 after 10 minutes. Pullen and E.J. Rowland had three-point plays that quickly increased the margin to 22-31 early in the second, and a Rowland basket made it 29-39 later in the second stanza. However, Booker and Nick Johnson cut the deficit and Lucic hit a three-pointer just before the buzzer to make it 38-41 at the break. Todorovic and Sergey Monia kept the visitors with a slim lead in the third, before Bayern answered with a 10-0 run, capped by Booker’s basket that made it 55-48. Pullen’s baskets cut the gap, but Bayern used a Taylor three-pointer to go up 69-59 in the waning seconds of the third. Bayern remained in front, but Robbie Hummel’s three-point play helped get Khimki within 73-68. Bayern soon restored a double-digit lead, with Taylor’s fastbreak layup making it 79-68. Redding’s three sparked another run that increased advantage to 88-71, as Bayern closed it out for a big win.