Khimki Moscow Region sinks Montepaschi Siena, wins 10 in a row

Khimki Moscow Region picked up an important road win, holding off Montepaschi Siena 69-75 on Wednesday night in Palaestra. Khimki extended its Eurocup winning streak to 10 games, with its lone loss of the season coming in the opening week, while Siena lost its first Eurocup game since 2007. The visitors pulled away early in the third quarter, and opened up 48-61 lead at the start of the fourth. Marquez Haynes and Joshua Carter rallied the hosts to 60-63, but James Augustine and Marko Popovic stopped the Siena’s rally, securing the victory. Augustine amassed 19 points plus 15 rebounds for Khimki. Mike Green had 12 points and 7 assists, while Petteri Koponen also scored 12. Popovic finished with 11, and Kresimir Loncar with 10 points in victory. For the Italian champ, Carter netted 17, while Haynes had 15 points. Erick Green added 14, and Othello Hunter 12 points for the hosts.

Lead changed hands 10 times in the first quarter. After Erick Green scored 7 points, including a triple for 11-7, Mike Green strung together 7 points, capping his personal run with a basket-plus-foul for 11-14. Hunter and Jeff Viggiano had back-to-back triples for the hosts, but Popovic hit from behind the arc for Khimki and Augustine scored 6 points for 22-23 after 10 minutes. Koponen and Augustine kept the visitors with a slim lead in the second quarter, before Carter buried a three for 33-33. But Egor Vyaltsev scored a pair from the foul line, and Koponen hit a jumper giving Khimki 35-37 at halftime.

The visitors pulled away at the start of the fourth, with a pair of baskets from Loncar, and a triple apiece from Mike Green and Koponen for 37-47. Carter and Haynes hit back-to-back triples for the hosts, but Augustine and Popovic helped extend it to 45-58. David Cournooh ended the third quarter with a triple for Siena, but Koponen opened the fourth with a basket-plus-foul for 48-61. Haynes nailed another three-pointer for the Italian champs, sparking a 12-3 run capped by a triple from Carter for 60-63. Mike Green hit a jumper on one end, and Spencer Nelson made a put-back to cut it back to 3 points, before Augustine and Popovic gave the visitors more breathing room, 62-69. Carter nailed his fourth triple, but Mike Green assisted Augustine for a pair of shots and 67-73 with 30 seconds remaining, sealing the deal.