«Lokomotiv-Kuban» Krasnodar, Russia vs. «Khimki» Khimki, Russia

Khimki Moscow Region defeated Lokomotiv-Kuban Krasnodar on the road, 76-67, in Game 4 of the playoff semifinals. Khimki got hot early on from beyond the arc, putting together an 18-0 run in the 2nd quarter. Lokomotiv came back in the second half, but never overcame the 22-point deficit. The series returns to Moscow Region for a decisive Game 5 on Saturday.

Intro
Lokomotiv won two straight after a disappointing Game 1 defeat to move within one win of reaching the finals. Khimki, of course, needed a victory on the road to keep its championship hopes alive and bring the series back home for Game 5. As in Game 3, Loko's Anthony Randolph and Khimki's Paul Davis and James Augustine were not available.

Rimas Kurtinaitis made one adjustment in the starting lineup, replacing Egor Vyaltsev with Petteri Koponen. Khimki struggled a bit in the opening minutes before picking up steam as Koponen and Marko Popovic dropped in a couple of threes to give the visitors the lead. Moscow Region went on to make four of its first seven long-range attempts, an excellent sign for the visitors after combining to shoot 14-45 from dowtown in Games 2 and 3.

Khimki held a 22-19 advantage at the end of the opening period before putting together an 18-0 run in the second. Moscow Region finished the half with a 50-28 lead, having shot 9-15 from beyond the arc.

Sergei Bazarevich made several adjustments at halftime. Lokomotiv-Kuban's defense improved dramatically, even forcing a couple shot-clock violations. The Basket Hall crowd started to come alive as the home team cut the deficit to 13, 62-49, entering the 4th quarter.

Turning Point
The Railwaymen continued to close the gap in the final period, but a frigid 2-17 performance from beyond the arc made matters difficult. Nine missed free throws didn't help either. Even so, Derrick Brown had a chance to cut the deficit to four with a minute left, but he missed a fast break layup, while Koponen drilled a jumper at the other end. That was it for Lokomotiv. Khimki holds on for a 76-67 win and forces Game 5 on Saturday.

Star of the Game
Marko Popovic. Khimki was on the brink of elimination after the devastating loss in Game 3. Once again, the Yellow-Blues had to play without big men James Augustine and Paul Davis. Someone needed to step up and that player was Popovic. He's had lots of nagging injuries throughout the season and struggled to play at his typical level, but he came through on the biggest stage. Popovic's 3-pointers and 13 points in the first half helped Khimki take complete control of the game. The Croat's big game sparked a terrific performance from Khimki on the road.

Stat of the Game
18-0 - Khimki's run in the 2nd quarter effectively decided the outcome of the contest.

Quotes
Lokomotiv-Kuban head coach Sergei Bazarevich:
- This is the playoffs. Khimki hasn't had any extended losing streaks this season, though neither have we. Our play in the second half is reason for optimism ahead of Game 5. We understand that it will be tough there, but we have to be ready for that. We battled in the second half and changed our defense a little. If we had been a little luckier, we probably could have made it closer at the end. Khimki hit a ridiculous percentage in the first half and we lost almost every contested possession. We came out with a good attitude, but then something broke. Give the opponent credit: they played great defense and we weren't able to run on fast breaks, which created a lot of problems. We will have to give everything we have in Game 5 to win this series.

Khimki head coach Rimas Kurtinaitis:
- I want to thank the guys for their effort and hard work. We managed to pull away in the 2nd quarter and take a 22-point lead at halftime. We tried to preserve that lead and we managed to do it, though it was tough. The second half was very intense and our lead meant nothing psychologically. We got lucky in the last few minutes during several plays where we made mistakes. Lokomotiv hoped to end the series today, but we were stronger.

Last time, I said that some of the guys maybe wanted to go on vacation a little earlier. But I had a sense of where the team was at mentally and though I'd say that during the press conference to give the guys extra energy. We hadn't played our style three games in a row, even in the game that we won. We were more confident today, calmer and more in control. We need time to learn how to play without our leading centers. Pateev is playing a lot. He's worn out and giving everything he has. Marko Popovic really helped us. He missed two months with an injury and needed a month to get back in shape. He was in rhythm today.

Top Performers
Lokomotiv-Kuban: Derrick Brown - 20 points; Malcolm Delaney - 13 points; Krunoslav Simon - 10 points, five assists; Richard Hendrix - seven points, seven rebounds.

Khimki: Marko Popovic - 16 points; Ruslan Pateev - 11 points; Victor Claver - 10 points, eight rebounds; Tyrese Rice - 10 points, six assists; Petteri Koponen - 10 points, five assists; Sergey Monia - nine points, five rebounds.