«Khimki» Khimki, Russia vs. «Vita» Tbilisi, Georgia

Khimki took care of business at home, racing to a 117-73 victory over Vita. Moscow Region grabbed a 20-point lead in the 1st quarter and didn't look back, shooting 58% from the field and setting several records in the win over the league's lone Georgian representative.

Intro
Vita played CSKA on Thursday, dropping a 93-60 decision to last year's champions. It didn't get any easier for Pavel Googe's squad on Monday, with the Caucasus club taking on a hungry and undefeated Khimki club that lost to CSKA in last year's playoff finals.

The home team opened the game on a 27-9 run thanks to seven 3-pointers in the first seven minutes. The score was 34-13 at the end of the 1st quarter.

After trading baskets over the first five minutes of the 2nd quarter, Khimki's depth eventually won out. The bench scored 21 of the team's 22 points in the period, including a Stanislav Ilnitsky '3', which gave Khimki a 56-29 lead at halftime.

Turning Point
Pierria Henry and Oleksandr Lypovyy did the lion's share of the work for Vita, combining for 35 points, 11 assists and five steals, but it wasn't nearly enough. After Lypovyy cut the deficit to 21 early in the 3rd quarter, Egor Vyaltsev drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead back to 27.

Khimki cruised from there, getting scoring from all 12 players on the roster. Not surprisingly, the Russians shattered several league records on offense en route to the 44-point win, shooting lights-out and sharing the ball from the opening tip to the final buzzer. 

Star of the Game
Finnish star Petteri Koponen led the way for the home team, scoring 22 points on 6-8 shooting from downtown to go with six assists and five rebounds. He also helped set the tone early, scoring 14 points in the opening period.

Stats of the Game
Khimki broke the VTB United League records for assists (38) and 3-pointers in a game (19). In addition, Rimas Kurtinaitis's men scored 117 points, good for second all-time in the league. 

Quotes
Vita head coach Pavel Googe:
- This was just our third game. We are confident in our play and we'll continue to build the team step by step. We used Khimki to get stronger, gain experience and figure out on video where we're not competitive. This was an excellent opportunity for us to grow.

Khimki head coach Rimas Kurtinaitis:
- I think everyone enjoyed the game: both the fans and the players. I'm happy for the guys and for the effort they gave. Everyone played hard. Everyone got on the court and contributed to the win. Vita is a new team, which hasn't played international basketball in a long time and only recently came together. I'm happy that they want to play in a good league. They've had to play tough competition, but I think the Georgian club can put things together by the New Year.

Stats