Bayern rallies from 18 down at Khimki

FC Bayern Munich overcame an 18-point deficit to register a 60-71 road win over Khimki Moscow Region on Friday and stay a step ahead of the pack in the playoffs race. Bayern improved to 10-10 on the season to retain seventh place in the standings, while Khimki dropped to 7-13. Derrick Williams led all scorers with 20 points to pace Bayern, which trailed 28-10 after 10 minutes, but used a 0-16 third-quarter run to take the lead for good. Vladimir Lucic scored 15, while all of Nihad Dedovic's 10 points came in the second half. Malcolm Thomas collected 13 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks for Khimki. Jordan Mickey also scored 13 for the hosts, who played under the guidance of head coach Rimas Kurtinaitis for the first time this season.

Khimki scored 8 straight points, including a triple from Andrey Zubkov, to open an 8-2 lead. Williams interrupted the run with a corner three, but Thomas answered from deep among his 7 points in an 11-0 Khimki run. The hosts held Bayern without a field goal in the last 6 minutes of the first quarter as Mickey scored 7 points the lead ballooned to 28-10. Williams ended Bayern's drought with a three-pointer and Petteri Koponen followed suit as Bayern quickly cut the difference to 28-18. Stefan Markovic hit a triple for the hosts, but Williams copied it, converted a three-point play, and dunked to make it 35-28. Tony Crocker's three-point play snapped a 2-8 run, but Braydon Hobbs hit from downtown to help Bayern stay within 40-35 at halftime. Thomas, Charles Jenkins and Zubkov extended Khimki's lead to 9 points soon after the break. Lucic and Danilo Barthel downed consecutive triples to spark a 0-16 run during which Lucic struck again, as did Dedovic, sending the visitors in front by 46-53. Mickey ended Khimki's scoreless drought of almost 6 minutes, but Bayern still took a 50-56 advantage into the fourth quarter. A pair of baskets from Lucic quickly extended the Bayern lead to 50-60, and a triple from Dedovic kept it in double digits. Khimki failed to score a field goal for more than 6 minutes now until Garlon Green raced for a fastbreak dunk. But Dedovic scored 4 more baskets, extending Bayern's advnatage to 57-69 in the next-to-last minute, sealing the deal.

Pivotal performer

Vladimir Lucic scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half. He nailed a pair of three-pointers during a key 0-16 third-quarter run. He added an alley-oop dunk and a crafty layup to start the fourth quarter by extending the lead to 10 points, after which Bayern never looked back.

Defensive lockdown

Bayern allowed 28 points in the first quarter, then just 32 the rest of the way. Bayern held Khimki without a field goal for 6 minutes or more twice; first during its 0-16 takeover run in the third quater, and again during the opening 6:20 of the fourth.

Hidden stat

Khimki had 1 turnover in the first quarter, but 7 in the second and 7 more in the third, as its 18-point lead turned into a six-point deficit.

Bayern 6-0 Khimki

This was the fourth head-to-head EuroLeague meeting between these teams, and the fourth win for Bayern, which swept this season's series, just as it had done in the 2015-16 regular season. Bayern also won both of their previous meetings in the 7DAYS EuroCup.

Kurtinaitis returns

Rimas Kurtinaitis returned for his second stint with Khimki. He served as the head of Khimki's bench from 2011 to 2016, when he led the club to EuroCup crowns in 2012 and 2015. He also previously coached Khimki in a pair of EuroLeague campaigns, and now has 23-21 record with Khimki in the EuroLeague.

Next game

Both teams will be at home next week in Round 21. Khimki (7-13) will host Zalgiris Kaunas (8-12), while Bayern (10-10) will welcome the league leader Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (18-2).