Partizan mt:s defeated BC Khimki 72-68

Partizan mt:s found its first win in Turkish Airlines Euroleague Group A by edging BC Khimki Moscow Region 72-68 in front of an outstanding basketball atmosphere at a sellout Pionir Arena in Belgrade, Serbia on Wednesday. Both teams are now tied in Group A, each with a 1-1 record. Nathan Jawai led the winners with 15 points and 8 rebounds. Oliver Lafayette added 13 points while Dusan Kecman had 12 for Partizan. Keith Langford led Khimki with 19 points. Zoran Planinic added 16 while Kresimir Loncar had 13 and 9 rebounds for the guests, that led for the best part of the game and managed to get a 36-42 edge after the break. Jawai and Kecman kept Partizan in a game and a 6-0 run that gave the hosts a 55-53 edge already in the fourth quarter. Free throws by Planinic got Khimki within 61-60 but Lafayette and Jawai shined in crunch time and a three-pointer by Vladimir Lucic allowed Partizan to put the victory on ice, 70-62, with under a minute left.

Planinic got Khimki going with a jumper but a put-back layup by Petar Bozic soon tied it at 2-2. Just as expected, Khimki found an early go-to guy in Langford, who sank a wild three-pointer off the dribble. Dragan Milosavljevic picked up a loose ball and put it in but a driving basket by Langford restored a 4-7 Khimki lead. Jawai finished a smooth move in the low post with a reverse layup, as Partizan kept powering the offensive board for second-chance points. A long jumper by Milosavljevic gave Partizan its first lead, 8-7. Sergey Monya struck from downtown but Jan Vesely banked in a put-back shot for a 10-10 tie. Langford followed a wild power basket with his second triple and free throws by Loncar soon gave Khimki a 13-17 lead. Kecman and Jawai tied the game with consecutive layups but Loncar did not miss from the foul line for a 17-19 score. Jawai shined with a big basket in the low post and Milosavljevic dunked off a midcourt steal to fix the score at 21-19 after 10 minutes.

Both teams struggled to score early in the second quarter but an off-balance jumper by Loncar tied it at 21-21. Lucic split free throws but a driving layup by Planinic put the guests back ahead, 22-23. Khimki circulated the ball well to find Raul Lopez open for a corner triple. Kecman fed Rasko Katic for an easy basket and added his own layup but free throws by Planinic and another corner three-pointer by Lopez gave Khimki a 26-31 lead. Kecman and Lafayette stepped up with back-to-back basket to make Khimki call timeout at 30-31. Loncar sank a jumper against Partizan's zone defense that Katic erased with a put-back layup. Langford kept pacing Khimki with free throws but Partizan was all over the place in defense. Kecman shined with a reverse layup off the baseline and free throws by Lucic put Partizan back ahead, 36-35. A stop-and-pop jumper by Planinic, however, gave Khimki a 36-37 halftime lead.

Vitaliy Fridzon found his first points on a corner three-pointer right after the break. Partizan went scoreless for more than 3 minutes and an easy dunk by Benjamin Eze forced the hosts to call timeout at 36-42. Jawai fed Vesely for a wild two-handed dunk that Fridzon erased with free throws. Jawai danced near the baseline for a reverse layup and Milosavljevic dunked it off a steal to get the crowd involved at 42-44. Khimki did not choose good options in offense now and called a much-needed timeout. Eze shined with a tip-in but he didn't find much help around, as Partizan had managed to stop Langford. The hosts kept missing open shots, however, but free throws by Lafayette got Partizan within 44-46. Planinic rescued Khimki with free throws that Lafayette improved with a big three-pointer. Planinic and Loncar combined for 3-of-4 free throws but Branislav Djekic scored in penetration for a 49-51 Partizan deficit. Aleksey Savrasenko beat the buzzer with a put-back layup for a 49-53 Khimki edge after 30 minutes.

Partizan tried a fast lineup with Jaka Klobucar, Bozic and Milosavljevic together on court early in the fourth quarter. Klobucar struck from downtown and even when Khimki used twin point guards - Lopez and Planinic - its ball circulation was poor. Jawai sent the crowd to its feet with a wild three-point play that restored a 55-53 Partizan lead. Planinic answered from downtown and Langford added an off-balanced driving layup to restore a 55-58 Khimki edge. Jawai scored again and Vesely added a backdoor layup to provide another lead change, 59-58, with over 4 minutes left. Jawai set the crowd on fire with a one-handed dunk and Lafayette added a step-back jumper for a 63-60 score. Lafayette collected a critical steal that allowed Kecman to find an easy basket, making Khimki call timeout at 65-60. Langford sank free throws that Lafayette erased with a mid-range jumper. Khimki struggled to score right when it mattered and a three-pointer by Lucic sealed the outcome, 70-62, with 56.2 seconds left. Khimki managed to get within 71-68 with 3 seconds left but a free throw by Lafayette allowed all Partizan fans to celebrate their team's first Turkish Airlines Euroleague win of the season!