Dynamo Moscow downing Climamio Bologna 78-73

Dynamo Moscow overcame injuries to stay unbeaten in its brand new Krilatskoe Arena by downing Climamio Bologna 78-73 in Group A on Thursday. Dynamo improved to 2-1 in the Group A standings and keeps its Top 16 chances intact, while Climamio dropped to 0-3 and needs to start winning right away in order to advance to the next round. Dynamo played without big men Lazaros Papadopoulos and Miroslav Raicevic but found a go-to guy in Antonios Fotsis, who led the winners with 26 points on 10-for-13 shooting and 8 rebounds. Travis Hansen added 14 points while Dmitry Domani added 12 for Dynamo. Preston Shumpert had 16 points for Climamio, Tyus Edney and David Bluthenthal each added 11 while Stefano Mancinelli popped 10 for the guests. The game saw as many as 13 lead changed before Shumper capped a 0-6 run which gave Climamio a 61-68 lead with 5 minutes to go. Hansen and Fotsis fueled a game-breaking 15-2 run which allowed Dynamo to get a big home win.

Marco Belinelli opened the scoring with a big driving layup which Fotsis erased with a fallaway jumper. Belinelli quickly answered with a long two-pointer and James Thomas made a free throw for a 2-5 Climamio lead. Domani got Dynamo back in track with free throws, igniting a 10-0 run highlighted by Bojan Popovic's driving basket. Climamio called timeout to find answers in offense, but by the time Domani hit a short jumper and Andrei Trushkin scored in the paint, Dynamo lead 12-5. Edney hit a jumper off the dribble but Fotsis erased with a driving basket and then dunked it to give his team a 16-7 margin after 7 minutes. Bluthenthal and Mancinelli stepped up with consecutive triples while Edney buried another shot to get Climamio within 16-15. Dynamo struggled against the guests' zone defense, but Hansen scored 4 points on a free throw and a triple which Daniele Cavaliero matched in the other end to bring Climamio within 20-18 at the end of the first quarter.

Fotsis kept Dynamo going with a high-flying put-back dunk to which Hansen followed with another slam in a spectacular start of the second quarter. Thomas tried to change things with a tip-in, while Climamio had improved its defense. Bluthenthal fired in a short jumper, forcing a Dynamo timeout at 24-23. Yuri Vasiliyev scored in penetration but Cavaliero buried his second triple to tie the game, 26-26. Fotsis answered from downtown but Mancinelli followed Bluthenthal's free throws with a floating layup to put Climamio ahead, 29-30. Vasilyev scored around the basket and even when Bluthental answered with a layup, teen sensation Dimitriy Khvostov buried a triple for a 34-32 Dynamo edge. Vasco Evtimov fed Bluthental for an easy layup while Shumpert nailed a short jumper which allowed Climamio to regain the lead, 35-36, at halftime.

Dynamo started to power the offensive board to get second-chance points. after the break. Andrei Trushkin dunked it off a midcourt steal which Shumpert erased with a six-meter jumper. Domani answered in the other end and soon added a driving layup to give Dynamo a 41-38 lead. Shumpert followed a driving layup with a running three-pointer to provide another lead change, 41-43. Trushkin tied the game with free throws but Edney answered in a six-meter jumper. Fotsis kept pacing Dynamo with an open triple but Edney scored again in transition. Trushkin hit another foul shot but a red hot Shumpert answered from downtown and Edney added a power layup for a five-point Climamio lead, 47-52. Hansen and Thomas exchanged baskets, but Fotsis - who else? - nailed a wild three-pointer to get Dynamo within 53-54. Belinelli and Mancinelli shined with consecutive triples but a follow-up layup by the ever-present Fotsis and Domani brought Dynamo within 57-60 after three quarters.

Khvostov showed his talent with a tough jumper which Belinelli matched in the other end to keep Climamio ahead, 59-62. Trushkin scored inside, but Climamio had started to gain the momentum with its zone defense. Meanwhile, Evtimov fed Mancinelli for a key basket and then added a put-back layup for a 61-66 Climamio lead with 7 minutes to go. Shumpert capped a 0-6 run with a fast break layup, but Hansen hit back-to-back triple to bring Dynamo back to life, 67-68. Shumpert stepped up with a layup but Fotsis bettered him with a layup-plus-foul and then added a fast break dunk for a 72-70 Dynamo edge with 4 minutes remaining. Climamio called timeout but an unsportsman foul on Edney allowed Popovic and Domani to give Dynamo a six-point lead, 76-70, after a 9-0 run. The guests went scoreless during 4 long minutes down the stretch, as even Edney hit a free throw with 24.2 seconds to go, it happened to be too little, too late for Climamio.