Shved leads Khimki to convincing home win

Khimki Moscow Region registered its third home win in Group F by downing Brose Baskets Bamberg 78-61 on Friday. Khimki improved to 3-1 the group, while Bamberg dropped to 2-2. Alexey Shved led the winners with 22 points and backcourt mate Petteri Koponen added 11. Janis Strelnieks led Bamberg with 13 points while Daniel Theis scored 12. Nicolo Melli shined early to give Bamberg a 4-8 lead. Zoran Dragic struck twice from downtown and got help from Tyrese Rice to put Khimki ahead 16-12 after 10 minutes. Shved took over early in the second quarter to make it an 11-point game. Bradley Wanamaker and Janis Strelnieks fueled a 0-12 run that gave Bamberg a 27-28 lead, but Shved and Dragic helped Khimki regain a 30-28 edge at halftime. A fast break dunk by Leon Radosevic gave Bamberg its last lead, 32-34. Tyler Honeycutt and Shved helped Khimki move in front 54-45 after 30 minutes. A fast break dunk by an unstoppable Shved made it a 20-point game, 68-48, and Bamberg never recovered.

First quarter: Rice starts strong for the hosts

Melli got Bamberg going with a mid-range jumper, as Khimki missed 3 times from downtown and committed 2 turnovers in the opening three minutes. Rice rescued the hosts with a mid-range jumper, which Nikos Zisis erased with a fast break layup. Melli kept pacing the guests with a turnaround jumper, before Marko Todorovic and Zisis traded free throws. A three-pointer by Dragic brought Khimki within 1. Dragic insisted from downtown to give Khimki its first lead, 10-8. Rice buried a stop-and-pop jumper in the lane, but Melli countered with foul shots. Bradley Wanamaker scored around the basket to tie it at 12-12. Rice stayed hot with a fast break basket, which Dmitry Sokolov followed with a two-handed dunk for a 16-12 Khimki lead after 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Bamberg uses 0-12 run to bounce back

Sokolov split free throws early in the quarter and Shved scored in the low post to boost the hosts' lead to 19-12, after a 7-0 run. Wanamaker fed Theis for an alley-oop dunk, but Bamberg kept struggling to score and committed two 24-second turnovers in the first four minutes of the half. Koponen stepped up with a driving layup and a catch-and-shoot triple by Shved made it a double-digit game, 24-14. After a Bamberg timeout, Wanamaker tried to change things with free throws, but Shved did even better with a big triple. Lucca Staiger shined with an off-balance jumper and Melli added a three-pointer that prompted Khimki to stop the game at 27-21. Wanamaker scored around the basket and followed Strelnieks's triple with a fast break dunk that completed the visitors' comeback at 27-28, at which point Khimki called timeout. Shved split foul shots and a backdoor layup by Dragic fixed the halftime score at 30-28.

Third quarter: Honeycutt, Shved extend Khimki's lead

Augustine scored down low soon after the break, but Radosevic followed a close jumper with a jump hook to tie the game again at 32-32. Radosevic kept pacing Bamberg with a fast break slam, forcing Khimki to stop the game at 32-34. Egor Vyaltsev made free throws that Wanamaker matched with an electric driving layup. Tyler Honeycutt struck from downtown and Rice bettered Darius Miller's driving layup with his own shot from beyond the arc for a 40-38 Khimki lead. Zisis, Honeycutt and Sergey Monya each hit a couple of free throws and a layup by Sokolov set a 46-40 Khimki margin. Shved banked in a three-pointer off the dribble, as Bamberg committed turnovers. Honeycutt hit foul shots, but a three-pointer by Theis and a driving layup by Wanamaker brought Bamberg within 51-45. Shved banked in a buzzer-beating triple from way downtown to boost Khimki's lead to 54-45.

Fourth quarter: Shved leads Khimki to big win

Shved made free throws early in the fourth quarter and a layup by Sokolov made it a 13-point game. Bamberg struggled to score for more than two minutes and a layup by Todorovic gave the guests a 60-45 margin with seven minutes left. Petteri Koponen stepped up with a three-pointer to cap a 12-0 run that bridged between the last two quarters. Radosevic split free throws and Miller hit 2 attempts to, but Koponen hit another one from downtown and Shved took over with an outstanding fast break dunk that sealed the outcome at 68-48. Miller and Augustine exchanged baskets and a jumper by Theis brought Bamberg a bit closer, 70-52. Wanamaker split free throws before Shved swished a jumper and split free throws. Theis followed an alley-oop slam with a three-pointer for that made it 74-58. Staiger hit a triple in transition, but Khimki had cruised to an important win.