CSKA Moscow, Russia vs. «Khimki» Khimki, Russia

Khimki Moscow Region shocked CSKA Moscow on the road, 77-75, in Game 4 of their VTB United League Playoffs semifinal series to force Game 5 in Khimki. Rimas Kurtinaitis’s men made an impressive comeback in the fourth quarter and won the game on Zoran Planinic’s jump shot just inside the arc with less than a second to play.

Intro
Early in the contest, both teams settled for a slow pace on offense, much like they did throughout Game 3. CSKA held the initiative, thanks in large part to Aaron Jackson, and led after the first quarter, 18-12.

The tempo picked up in the second quarter. Khimki’s Sergey Monya started to hit from the perimeter and the visitors ran the fast break as often as possible. CSKA, for its part, got the big men involved in the paint, where they had their way against the Khimki defense. The home team had more success – Vladimir Micov’s driving layup at the end of the half increased CSKA’s lead to double digits, 44-33.

Turning Point
Neither team could make a move in the third quarter. CSKA maintained its 10-point lead, postponing the drama until the final period.
Despite scoring just two points in the first three quarters, Khimki guard Vitaliy Fridzon caught fire in the fourth. He dropped ten straight points in the first three minutes to pull his team within four, 66-62, before teammate K.C. Rivers drained a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one point.

The lead vacillated back and forth in the final minutes. CSKA forward Sonny Weems buried a huge perimeter shot with 57 seconds to play to even the game at 75. After Fridzon missed a quick jumper, Weems drove the ball to the basket on CSKA’s next possession, missing the layup but earning a trip to the free throw line with the game tied and 20 seconds left on the clock. Weems, who clanked two free throws earlier in the quarter, came up empty once again.

Khimki’s Zoran Planinic brought the ball up the court and ran the clock down on the perimeter, before knocking down a deep 2-pointer with just 0.9 seconds left on the clock to give Khimki the two-point lead. Vladimir Micov couldn’t get his desperation 3-pointer off in time as Khimki won a pulsating Game 4 to send this semifinal series the distance.

Star of the Game
Vitaliy Fridzon. Up until the fourth quarter, Fridzon had converted just two free throws. When it counted most, however, the veteran Russian guard refocused and brought his team back into the game. His 10-point run was the turning point in the game. CSKA never really responded and Khimki managed to claw out a victory in the final seconds.

Stat of the Game
5 – number of 3-point field goals from Sergey Monya. He bounced back from a terrible Game 3. The Russian forward’s 3-pointers kept Khimki alive during the second quarter and his final long-range bomb with two minutes to play helped his team hold on for a win.

Quotes
CSKA head coach Ettore Messina:
- We looked really good for three quarters. Our offense looked noticeably better – we dished out 22 assists. But, when we just needed to finish our work, we suddenly stopped defending and allowed our opponents to score 25 points in the final quarter. When the teams score about 80 points, it’s very difficult to handle Khimki. To repeat, we stopped playing defense and made an enormous mistake. At the same time, I must admit that our opponents didn’t give in and deserve to be congratulated. Now we have to start all over again from zero.

Khimki head coach Rimas Kurtinaitis:
- As never before, I’d like to thank my players for their effort. We couldn’t get our game going at first. There’s a general trend in basketball that whoever wins the first quarter, wins the game, but we managed to break that stereotype. We played the fourth quarter on emotions and energy. We started today’s game with a different roster. Augustine and Vyaltsev provided good energy. The tactic justified itself – Fridzon really helped us at the end, while Zoran hit the decisive shot. This our shared victory. We carried out what we had hoped to do.

Top Performers
CSKA: Vladimir Micov – 13 points, four assists; Andrey Vorontsevich – 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists; Nenad Krstic – 12 points; Aaron Jackson – 11 points, six rebounds, four assists; Sonny Weems – 10 points; Victor Khryapa – eight points, five rebounds, seven assists.

Khimki: Sergey Monya – 15 points; Zoran Planinic – 14 points, four assists, three steals; James Augustine – 13 points, seven rebounds; Vitaliy Fridzon – 12 points.

To Be Continued…
Game 5 in the Khimki – CSKA series will be played on Friday, May 31 in Khimki. The contest tips off at 7:00 pm local time. You can watch live on Rossiya 2 and VTB-League.com.

Photo of the Game