Khimki Moscow Region defeated Avtodor Saratov at home, 102-70 (29-16, 25-19, 26-18, 22-17).
Top Scorers
Khimki: Alexey Shved (25), Jacob Pullen (14+5 ast), Viacheslav Zaitcev (13+10 reb+6 ast), Nobel Boungou-Colo (10)
Avtodor: Nick Minnerath (22), Alan Makiev (9+7 reb), Branden Frazier (9+5 ast)
Turning Point
The game was decided in the 1st quarter. After taking a 7-6 lead on Branden Frazier’s 3-pointer, Avtodor went ice cold, missing its next nine shots from the field to go with three turnovers. Khimki took advantage, scoring 16 unanswered for a commanding 22-7 lead.
The home team never looked back, leading by 19 at halftime and winning every quarter by at least five points.
Viacheslav Zaitcev punctuated the win with a dunk in the final minute, helping Khimki score 100 points for the first time this season.
Dusko Ivanovic’s club has now won six straight; Avtodor drops its sixth in a row.
Star
Shved led Khimki in scoring with 25 points, but 27-year-old forward Viacheslav Zaitcev had a big all-around game, scoring 13 points on 6-10 shooting to go with 10 rebounds, six assists, two blocks, and one steal.
Quotes
Khimki head coach Dusko Ivanovic:
– We played a good game. The only negative is that there were some stretches when we didn’t take a serious approach to the game. We need to be very serious for the entire 40 minutes. As for Zaitcev, he’s someone who always plays and practices at 100% and gives his maximum. His play in the game vs. Avtodor is the result of his hard work.
Avtodor head coach Sergei Mokin:
– We played against a good team. They have some recent momentum and play very organized. We lost the one-on-one battle. When guys like Alexey Shved, Jacob Pullen take over a game, any team would have difficulty defending. It was a logical outcome. Regarding Teague and Hunter, they clearly struggled to get going. They aren’t in shape yet. Time will tell what roles they are capable of on the team. You certainly wouldn’t call the first part of the season a success for Avtodor. We’re playing a lot of rivals on the road. I hope we’ll fix the situation in the second half and pick up our points.
Up Next
Khimki: December 10 vs. Parma
Avtodor: December 10 vs. Kalev
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