Dynamo Moscow downing RheinEnergie 82-96

Dynamo Moscow got its first Euroleague road win and moved closer to its initial goal of making the Top 16 from Group A by downing RheinEnergie 82-96 in Dusseldorf, Germany on Thursday. Dynamo held onto third place in the group with a 5-3 record while RheinEnergie now ties for the seventh place at 2-6. Lazaros Papadopoulos led the winners with 25 points on 8-for-11 two-pointers, 9 of 10 free throws and 8 rebounds. Travis Hansen added 19 points while hitting 8 of 9 free throws, Antonis Fotsis had 18 and went 7 of 7 from the line while Eddie Gill added 12 points for Dynamo. Marcus Faison had 17 points for RheinEnergie. Demond Mallet added 13, Ronnie Burrell 12, Guido Grunheid and Immanuel McElroy 10 each. Dynamo led 18-31 midway through the second quarter and kept a slim lead for the rest part of the game. A layup by Faison, however, got RheinEnergie within 70-74 with 6 minutes to go, but a 4-11 run which Dmitry Domani capped with a triple allowed Dynamo to seal the outcome.

RheinEnergie started the game with a pair of turnovers that Dynamo used to jump ahead on a layup by Papadopoulos and free throws by Domani. Marcin Gortat found Immanuel McElroy down low for Cologne’s first points, but a drive by Fotsis and free throws by Papadopoulos pushed Dynamo's lead to 2-8. Dynamo kept going inside to their big man, who hit back-to-back hook shots before Demond Mallett got hot for the hosts. The RheinEnergie point guard dropped a three-pointers in succession from the arc and Ronnie Burrell went coast-to-coast for a soaring jam to pull the hosts within 10-12. Dynamo answered with a run of its own, as Popovic made a running layup and Fotsis a fastbreak slam dunk. Mallet hit from midrange for RheinEnergie, and after free throws by Fotsis, Marcus Faison scored inside on a feed by Aleksandar Nadjfeji. With time ticking off the clock, Edward Gill drew a foul and hit both free throws for a 14-20 Dynamo lead after 10 minutes.

To begin the second quarter, Dynamo did its damage from outside, as Gill and Fotsis hit triples, and from inside, on a shot by Obinna Ekezie. Although Nadjfeji hit a tough fadeaway for RheinEnergie, Popovic landed Dynamo's third triple of the quarter already, giving his team their largest lead so far, 18-31. But Cologne fought back, with Burrell hitting a difficult scoop shot inside, Nadjfeji scoring on a fastbreak, and Mladen Sljivancanin downing 2 free throws, cutting the deficit to 24-31. Dynamo struggled now with outside shooting but rebounded the misses before Travis Hansen finally hit from the corner to make it 24-34. Burrell kept going down low for Cologne, earning 4 free throws attempts and making 3 of them. Papadopoulos hit a hook shot for Dynamo, but Burrell answered with a three-point play off an offensive rebound. After Hansen hit 1 of 2 free throws, Nadjfeji drove inside for a layup to make it 32-39 at halftime.

Gill opened the second half with a tip-in of a Hansen miss on the break for Dynamo. Mallet and Faison boosted RheinEnergie by drilling three-pointers that cut the difference to 3 points, 38-41. Dynamo turned again to Papadopoulos, and he responded by downing a hook shot then stealing and passing full-court to Fotsis, who converted a three-point play. When Papadopoulos dropped 2 more hook shots and Hansen drove for a layup, Dynamo led 40-52 and RheinEnergie needed a timeout. Afterwards, Nadjfeji drove for a layup and Faison blocked a shot and hit a triple to spark the hosts. Despite subsequent baskets by Gortat and Faison, however, Domani reappeared with a shot from downton to boost the Dynamo lead to 10 points again, 49-59. Yet again, RheinEnergie came back. McElroy got 2 baskets inside, sandwiched around a three-pointer by Gill. Guido Grunheid dunked and then fed Nadjfeji for an open layup. Nadjfeji's steal sent McElroy for a tough layup on the break, making it 59-63. That difference remained after the teams traded free throws and jumpers by Hansen and McElroy to fix a 63-67 scoreboard after 30 minutes.

Fotsis opened the fourth quarter with free throws and Ekezie scored inside with a hook shot to push Dynamo up by 63-71. Grundheid provided 5 points in response for RheinEnergie, following free throws with a three-pointer to keep the hosts close at 68-71. Hansen answered with a three-point play for Dynamo and Faison hit a tough layup assisted by Nadjfeji for RheinEnergie. But that's when Dynamo proved to be tough-minded as Popovic and Dimitry Khvostov put down 4 throws, while Papdopolous soon added another hook free throws to extend the lead to 10 points, 72-82, with 3 minutes left. Still, RheinEnergie shot back, as Faison scored 5 quick points on a triple and free throws, but that was the last gasp for the hosts. Hansen scored 5 points in the closing minutes and Domani hit a triple as the visitors ran away to a convincing 82-96 road win.