7 Biggest Scoring Performances In League History

Scoring records are falling left and right this season in the VTB United League, both in the team and individual categories. Khimki guard Egor Vyaltsev set a new record for 3-pointers in a game vs. Astana, knocking down 12! But the Russian guard still finished one point short of Randy Culpepper's record 41-point performance, scoring 40 in the win.

One week removed from Vyaltsev's outburst, VTB-League.com takes a look back at the league's top 7 scoring performances of all-time.

37 points

Marcus Brown (Zalgiris)

Date: November 18, 2009
Game: Zalgiris 82, Azovmash 69

Marcus Brown's record, set in the league's debut season, lasted for several years. The experienced American guard went off for 37 in Zalgiris's third league game. Azovmash kept the score close for much of the contest, but Brown was too much, finishing 7-11 from downtown to go with five mid-range field goals and six free throws. Not surprisingly, Zalgiris won comfortably in the end, 82-69.

Keith Langford (Khimki)

Date: December 22, 2009
Game: Khimki 86, UNICS 74

Langford is in his second season with UNICS and currently leads the league in scoring. But his most memorable game in the VTB United League came six seasons ago when he played for Khimki. Ironically, he did his damage against his future club, UNICS Kazan. Langford couldn't be stopped that night, slicing through the paint, finishing on fast breaks, scoring from outside and dishing out assists to his teammates. In addition to his 37 points, Langford had a 49 efficiency rating, a record that many think may never be broken.

Aliaksandr Kudrautsau (Tsmoki-Minsk)

Date: October 31, 2012
Game: Neptunas 110, Tsmoki-Minsk 106

Three years passed before anyone could match Brown and Langford's performances. The breakthrough came during a Neptunas - Tsmoki-Minsk shootout. Neptunas's Martinas Mazheika and Tsmoki's Aliaksandr Kudrautsau put on a show: Mazheika finished with 33, while Kudrautsau went off for 37, tying the record at the time. The Dragons guard could have scored even more, but he fouled out, missing overtime. His teammates, nonetheless, pulled out the win without him.

Anthony Hilliard (Tsmoki-Minsk)

Date: November 14, 2015
Game: Astana 92, Tsmoki-Minsk 93

Three years later, another Minsk player matched Kudrautsau's achievement. Anthony Hilliard caught fire in Astana, shooting 65% from the field, knocking down 15 of 23 attempts, including 5-8 from downtown. Astana couldn't stop him. Hilliard showed an ability to beat his defender one-on-one and ran the fast break to perfection. Ramunas Butautas's club tried everything, but Hilliard was on fire from start to finish.

40 points

Marius Runkauskas (Neptunas)

Date: January 12, 2014
Game: Neptunas 75, Tsmoki-Minsk 72

One year after Kudrautsau's fireworks in Klaipeda, Neptunas got revenge thanks to a brilliant performance from guard Marius Runkauskas. While neither team was particularly prolific on offense, Runkauskas more than compensated, scoring over 50% of his team's points, including a 10-13 night beyond the arc. His last '3' of the night was huge: with the score tied, Runkauskas drained a jumper to give his team the win in the final seconds.

Egor Vyaltsev (Khimki)

Date: February 14, 2016
Game: Khimki 128, Astana 87

Astana has been the victim of several scoring records this season, giving up 131 to Avtodor and 128 to Khimki. Nobody has given up more points in a game this season.

During the recent Khimki - Astana matchup in Moscow Region, Egor Vyaltsev made his personal mark. The Russian guard has always been a reliable perimeter threat, but he put on a performance for the ages vs. Astana, connecting on 12 3-pointers and finishing one point short of Randy Culpepper's league record. Vyaltsev even played 13 less minutes than Culpepper when he set the single-game scoring record.

41 points

Randy Culpepper (Krasny Oktyabr)

Date: October 14, 2013
Game: Tsmoki-Minsk 112, Krasny Oktyabr 113

During his first game in the league, Randy Culpepper broke the record for most points in a game, a mark that has yet to be equaled two and a half years later. Culpepper never threatened the record in the future, scoring more than 30 points just twice in the following two seasons.

Everything went Culpepper's way that night. Facing an offense-first opponent, the American guard had the green light from his coaches. He also got an extra five minutes in overtime, scoring five points in the period to set a record that still stands today.