«Khimki» Khimki, Russia vs. VEF Riga, Latvia

Khimki Moscow Region defeated VEF Riga at home, 104-93. The game was close for three and a half quarters until Khimki seized control. With the win, Moscow Region moves to 14-0 all-time against VEF.

Recap
VEF showed no fear against a star-studded Khimki roster. Despite entering as a heavy underdog, Riga hoped to catch Moscow Region by surprise and score an upset. As for Khimki, Rimas Kurtinaitis and co. were coming off a big double-overtime win against Lokomotiv-Kuban and wanted to solidify its position in the top four.

The 1st quarter was evenly matched. Francisco Cruz carried VEF's offense, while Khimki got more balanced production between the starting lineup and the bench. Despite not starting, Petteri Koponen and Marko Todorovic had an impact for the home team, giving the Russian club a 47-40 lead at halftime.

During the 3rd quarter, Alexey Shved and James Augustine helped Khimki to a double-digit advantage. VEF cut the deficit to four early in the 4th quarter and only trailed by seven late in the period, but Moscow Region had too many options on offense, outscoring VEF down the stretch to win by 11.

Star Player
Petteri Koponen. The Finn had a huge impact down the stretch, posting 15 points, three assists and two steals in the 4th quarter.

Stat of the Game
104 points - Khimki's third-biggest score of the season and the 4th time the team has scored more than 100 points in a game.

Quotes
Khimki head coach Rimas Kurtinaitis:
- Both teams paid a lot of attention to the offense. The outcome speaks for itself. I'm happy that we won. We have a tough game against Fenerbahce in the Euroleague coming up. We got a good workout since VEF always plays up-tempo basketball with a lot of 3-point shots. We were on point today, however.

VEF head coach Janis Gailitis:
- This was a tough game against a good team. Khimki has an extremely talented squad and an offense-oriented approach. The stats back that up, after all Khimki scored 104 points. We were not disciplined on defense, rebounding, or in transition offense throughout the game. I like Khimki and how they play, as well as coach Kurtinaitis. I'm satisfied with how we played against a team of that caliber, keeping it close for almost 35 minutes.