By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Fenerbahce BEKO played with fire and Khimki Moscow got the 84-78 overtime win over the top team in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings.
Still missing Alexey Shved, but with Anthony Gill back on the court scoring 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds, the hosts got their seventh win in their EuroLeague season and they are keeping their playoffs hopes alive.
Stefan Markovic with 13 points was the top scorer of the winners, while Dee Bost added also 12 points and Tony Crocker had ten.
“I have to give credit to the players“, Khimki’s coach Giorgos Bartzokas said after the game. “They proved that they deserve this a lot. They showed their potential. And I would like to say that I am grateful for the fans. It was a very warm atmosphere for us today. It was like a celebration for the new year.”
Despite a 23-13 lead at the first quarter for Fenerbahce, Khimki Moscow turned the tables fast. The hosts trailed by three at half time (41-38) keeping things in check due to their defense and end up leading by three (57-54) at the end of the third.
The game was close and Fenerbahce got the 66-63 advantage with three minutes left. It was obvious that the game will be decided on details and Khimki proved to be better in crunch time.
Thanks to a 7-1 run, the hosts got a crucial 70-67 lead. Nicolo Melli made it a one-point game (70-69) for Fenerbahce with 25 seconds left and in the remaining time, the two teams decided to foul. Markovic missed two crucial shots, Melli made one out of two with just one second left on the clock and the end result was overtime with the score tied at 72.
“In many situations, we played slow with the ball and didn’t move without the ball. And I believe that in the end, the key to us losing the game was that“, admitted Fenerbahce’s coach Zeljko Obradovic. “Coming to this point that we played overtime means that both teams had the possibility to win the game. Today, luck was on their side. But one more time, congratulations to them for their victory.”
Khimki started the extra time with an 8-2 run and that was enough.
“We couldn’t win the game in regular time but in overtime, we showed character, we played with confidence and we won“, admitted coach Bartzokas.
Melih Mahmutoglu scored 18 points in 18 minutes for Fenerbahce, Jan Vesely added 17 and Kostas Sloukas had 10.
Photo credit: EuroLeague