By Stefan Djordjevic/ sdjordjevic@eurohoops.net
Khimki Moscow had a great start to the game, however, LDLC ASVEL turned the tables in the second half and came out on top with 90-84 in Round 15 of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Guerschon Yabusele with 20 points was leading the French squad which showed huge character on the court and especially so down the stretch, in defense, fights for the loose balls and on the boards. He had five boards, three steals and two blocks next to his name.
“It’s a pretty good victory. It feels good to win tonight and protect our home court. We came back with a lot of energy in the second half: defense better, offense sharing the ball. And we played together. It was a real team win. And we’re pretty happy about this one. We’re feeling good right now. We just have to go back to the lab and work and get ready for the next team,” Yabusele said.
Norris Cole added 19, Moustapha Fall 16 and David Light 14 points. For Khimki, Devin Booker logged a career-night with 26 points and 32 PIR on just one miss from the field.
Alexey Shved had 14 points and ten assists for Khimki but couldn’t help the team in crunch time as he fouled out around the three-minute mark, as did Jordan Mickey beforehand. Jonas Jerebko scored ten points.
Booker’s fiery performance along with Shved’s playmaking gave Khimki a 40-25 lead in the second quarter. However, ASVEL completely took over in the third quarter and came out on top in the close finish to improve to 5-9 while leaving Khimki at rock bottom with a 2-13 record after their seventh straight loss in the competition.
Coach TJ Parker was happy with his players despite a slow start and knows they have to take it step by step: “Slow start, (two) games in one week. It’s not easy but we came out and we know how we win: it’s defensively. So we brought the energy and the players did a good job. It’s game by game. That’s what we’re doing right now. Next up is CSKA Moscow. Just playing basketball.”