Week 18 In Review: 6,399 In Perm And VEF’s Amazing Win

Week 18 In Review: 6,399 In Perm And VEF’s Amazing Win

Everything you need to know from a wild two days in the League. 

Khimki loses by too much in Kazan

UNICS hosted Khimki in the Game of the Week. Kazan has been picking up steam in recent weeks and Moscow Region wound up another victim: Artem Klimenko’s dunk capped a shocking 16-0 run for UNICS to start the game. 

Khimki kept trying to come back and occasionally cut into the deficit. Jordan Mickey was the most active player on the visitors’ roster: 

But the Yellow and Blue didn’t have much of a chance against UNICS on Friday:

Pierria Henry grabbed a steal and scored on a fast break in the final seconds to give UNICS a 15-point win, 73-58. Those two points could be huge at the end of the season. Khimki won the first meeting by 13 points (78-65). Now Kazan will hold the tiebreaker if these two teams finish the season with identical records. 

VEF and Zenit play two incredible overtimes

Last season, Avtodor shocked the League by snapping Loko’s 26-game winning streak right before the All-Star Game. Maxim Sheleketo was the hero, knocking down a game-winner in the final seconds. 

VEF played Cinderella this season, traveling to St. Petersburg as underdogs, though the Latvians were coming off a big road win vs. Kalev. 

The game was extremely tight from start to finish. Neither team led by more than eight points, before ultimately needing overtime.

Zenit was led by Jalen Reynolds. The center scored seven points in a minute during the 3rd quarter to bring St. Petersburg back: 

He also forced double overtime with this dunk:

Reynolds finished with 32 points, the 2nd-most points scored by a player this season, and a ridiculous 46 efficiency rating, the 4th-best in League history.

But it wasn’t enough to repress Glenn Cosey. The VEF newcomer erupted in double overtime, sinking four 3-pointers in less than two minutes, including the game-winning 3 over none other than Jalen Reynolds: 

Remarkably, this was VEF’s first win against Zenit in the League.

Dunk of the week

Anton. Pushkov.

Dorell Wright shows what an NBA champ can do

The game between Lokomotiv-Kuban and Nizhny Novgorod was no less competitive than the one in St. Petersburg. Despite playing in the Russian Cup only a few days earlier, Nizhny Novgorod battled evenly with Lokomotiv-Kuban for nearly 40 minutes, but came up a little short. 

Loko was just better down the stretch. Dmitry Kulagin carried the team for most of the contest (and put the game away with a basket at the end), but Dorell Wright’s four-point play gave Loko the lead and the momentum. 

With this win, Loko moved into 3rd place at Khimki’s expense. Nizhny Novgorod is still in position for a playoff berth despite the setback in Krasnodar.

Saratov’s youth delivers vs. Kalev

The match-up between Avtodor and Kalev was crucial for both teams as they battle for the League’s final postseason spot. For the first 30 minutes, it looked like the visiting Estonians would get the win and pick up a two-game lead on Avtodor: Arnett Moultrie and Chavaughn Lewis were simply too much for Saratov’s defense.

But Saratov had a pair of young Russian wild cards. Nikita Mikhailovsky scored 11 points, knocked down three 3-pointers and added this dunk: 

Anton Kvitkovskikh, meanwhile, started the 4th quarter with nine straight points:

In the end, the 18-year-old forwards combined for 36 points in a must-win game as Avtodor secured the 112-109 win.

Perm sets the season attendance record

PARMA vs. CSKA games in Perm are always an event. On Friday, the Molot drew 6,399 fans, a new season record in the League.

PARMA was both effective and electric in the early going: 

During the first half, the home team kept CSKA in check, but after halftime, the reigning champs solved Perm’s defense and went on to win, 79-69. Dimitris Itoudis had some kind words to say about his team’s opponent: 

“I’d like to congratulate PARMA on the win in the Russian Cup and note the amazing atmosphere at the game created by the fans. Every game in Perm is special and memorable for us.” 

Team of the week

Standings