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

Khimki Moscow Region defeated CSKA Moscow at home, 107-104. After 40 minutes of thrilling comebacks, big shots and and a terrific atmosphere in the stands, Tyrese Rice gave Khimki the win by knocking down a 3-pointer with one second left to play. With the win, Khimki passes CSKA in the standings, while the Army Men lose their second straight in the league.

Intro
This has been Russian basketball's best rivalry over the past decade. Once again, Khimki (14-2) and CSKA (16-2) entered this matchup as the top two teams in the league. At the same time, both clubs lost in Week 18 and were determined to get back on the winning track as soon as possible. CSKA also lost to Olympiacos on Thursday in the Euroleague.

Khimki had to play without Marko Popovic, while CSKA was missing Viktor Khryapa and Aaron Jackson. The home team dealt the first blow as Tyler Honeycutt connected on a 3-pointer. Vitaly Fridzon answered back and for several minutes neither team could carve out an advantage.

But Khimki closed the 1st quarter strong, led by Egor Vyaltsev's eight points and four assists as well as big man Paul Davis's terrific play. Milos Teodosic generally gives CSKA a boost off the bench, but he only scored two points while turning the ball over three times in the opening period. The Red-Blues trailed by eight points entering the 2nd quarter.

Khimki knocked down a pair of 3-pointers early in the period, but CSKA gradually started to get back in the game. Teodosic was terrific and Nando de Colo knocked down several important shots. The Red-Blues' defense was also much better.

Khimki began to turn the ball over and its offense slowed down, stymied by CSKA's aggressive defense. The Yellow-Blues also got into foul trouble early on in the 2nd quarter, limiting their ability to stop the Army Men at the other end. CSKA won the period by a score of 32-18, turning an eight-point deficit into a six-point lead at halftime.

The home team came out refocused, regaining the lead just 90 seconds into the second half. The offense was much better as Khimki started pushing the tempo and hitting 3-pointers. Paul Davis continued to be effective in the paint, converting several three-point plays. Petteri Koponen, meanwhile, was the biggest threat from beyond the arc, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers. Entering the final period, Khimki held a nine-point advantage.

It seemed logical that CSKA would go on another run, but Khimki started the 4th quarter with two 3-pointers, making it a 15-point game. Needing a huge comeback, CSKA put one together in a flurry. Teodosic started the run with a 3-pointer. On the very next possession, the Army Men stole the inbounds pass and Vitaly Fridzon drilled a '3' to make it a nine-point game. Kyle Hines took over from there, helping the Army Men cut the deficit to 92-91 with 3:48 still to play!

Turning Point
Khimki responded with an 8-2 run of its own, leading 100-93 with 1:21 left in the game. The Army Men refused to give up. Thanks to spotty free-throw shooting from the home team, the visitors cut the seven-point deficit to two after 3-pointers from Fridzon and Teodosic.

With about 20 seconds left to play, Khimk guard Tyrese Rice got trapped and turned the ball over, giving the Army Men possession and a chance to tie or win the game.

Khimki, however, decided not to risk anything and fouled Teodosic before he could get off a shot. The Serb made both free throws to tie the game at 104-104.

Moscow Region got the ball back with plenty of time (14 seconds) to hit the game winner and avoid overtime.

The clock winding down, Rice had the ball at the perimeter defended by Manuchar Markoishvili. The Khimki guard paused for a second, then stepped back and drilled the 3-pointer, giving his team the win over its archrivals, while bringing back memories of James Augustine's sensational shot at the buzzer last winter against CSKA. This time around, the Army Men did have one second left to tie the game, but they came up empty. Khimki wins, 107-104!

Both teams left everything they had on the court as Khimki emerged victorious, replacing CSKA at the top of the standings, while dropping the visitors to a third consecutive defeat.

Star of the Game
Tyrese Rice. Koponen, Davis and Honeycutt were also terrific, but Rice hit the big 3-pointer that helped Khimki avoid overtime.

Stat of the Game
211 - total number of points in the game. The fans couldn't have asked for more!

Quotes
Khimki head coach Rimas Kurtinaitis:
- First of all, I would like to thank all of the fans for their support. The arena played a huge role in the final three points. I would say that the team played as hard as it could. We could have played better if we had more control. A team like Khimki should never give up a 17-0 run, even without timeouts. If you compare our two games with CSKA, then we are a different team. We're more cohesive. This game was important mentally since CSKA has been extremely good all season. We'll try to improve in a few areas. Yes, and the statistics say that we played like a team. 28 assists is a lot. I'd also like to note Petteri Koponen who is starting to play like a true leader.

CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis:
- We lost a big fight, the outcome of which was decided on the final shot. Either team could have won, but Khimki got the victory and I congratulate them on their success. We need some changes in our play, most of all, on defense. We gave up 66 points in two quarters, after winning at home [over Khimki] 78-60. Of course, Khimki has plenty of good players that can score, but the way we played on defense is not acceptable.

Top Performers
Khimki: Petteri Koponen - 22 points, six assists; Paul Davis - 22 points; Tyrese Rice - 18 points, seven assists; Tyler Honeycutt - 16 points, seven rebounds; Egor Vyaltsev - 10 points, five assists; Sergey Monia - 10 points.

CSKA: Milos Teodosic - 31 points, nine assists; Nando de Colo - 23 points; Vitaly Fridzon - 18 points; Andrey Vorontsevich - 12 points, six rebounds, five assists; Kyle Hines - 10 points, five rebounds.