Bayern uses perfect overtime to beat Khimki and finish atop Group F

In a direct battle for the top spot in Group F, FC Bayern Munich clinched first place and the home-court advantage in the quarterfinals with an unusual 74-96 overtime road win at Khimki Moscow Region. The win kept Bayern undefeated in Top 16 action and it will next face Unicaja Malaga in the quarterfinals. Khimki will meet Valencia Basket. Khimki needed to win by more than 16 points to overtake Bayern for the top spot, but the visitors used a 0-15 second-quarter run to open a double-digit margin, and did not relinquish the lead until 28 seconds before the end of the fourth quarter when Alexey Shved made 2 free throws to tie it at 72-72. The game went into overtime, but since all points scored in extra periods do not count in tiebreak situations, Bayern secured first place in the standings at the end of regulation. Bayern opened overtime, however, with 17 unanswered points, allowing only a pair of free throws during the entire extra session, to claim a big win. Maximilian Kleber posted 21 points on 4-for-5 three-point shooting plus 10 rebounds to lead Bayern. Nihad Djedovic added 17 points, Nick Johnson had 15 and Devin Booker finished with 11 in victory. Shved scored 31 points for the hosts and E.J. Rowland scored 13 points in defeat.

Kleber hit two triples at the start of the game to help the visitors to 4-8. Shved got his account opened early for Khimki, before Rowland’s two baskets gave Khimki a 14-11 edge. The hosts led 16-15 after 10 minutes, before a three-pointer from Shved and a three-point play from Jacob Pullen made it 24-19 early in the second quarter. However, Bayern answered with 0-15 run during which Kleber hit his third wide-open three and Booker had a nifty assist in addition to a three-point play and a layup that made it 24-34 in the final minute of the half. Pullen’s layup snapped Khimki’s scoring drought that went on for almost six minutes, but the visitors went into the break up 26-34. Vyacheslav Zaytsev helped cut the deficit to 33-37 at the start of the third quarter, and Shved’s triple got Khimki within 39-40. Djedovic hit a three-pointer for the visitors and Sergey Monia for the hosts, before Djedovic and Danilo Barthel extended Bayern’s lead to 5s. Valerii Likhodei hit a last-second three-pointer to end the third quarter and cut the margin to 51-53 after 30 minutes. But Bayern needed only 90 seconds to score the first 7 points of the fourth quarter with Anton Gavel scoring a put-back and a three-pointer, which made it 51-60. Khimki tried to rally again, and Rowland had a basket-plus-foul and Shved nailed a corner three to get within 63-66. Booker scored twice inside, but Shved scored 7 points in the final two minutes, including a pair of free throws that tied the game at 72-72 and sent the game into overtime. Those extra five minutes were as one-sided as they get. Bayern put together a 0-17 run behind Johnson, Djedovic and Kleber, who each scored a three-pointer during that spurt. The visitors also did not allow Khimki a single point for more than three minutes and closed out a game in impressive fashion.