The basketball team of FC Bayern München won 71-60 at Khimki Moscow on the 20th gameday of the EuroLeague. In front of 6,151 spectators, Bayern fought back after a weak first quarter (10-28) and thanks to an improved defense they allowed Moscow to score only 32 points after the first quarter. The German champions, who were mostly without Stefan Jovic after he suffered an apparent back injury in the second quarter are now 10-10 on the season and move into seventh place in the standings.The top scorer for Bayern was Derrick Williams with 20 points followed by Vladimir Lucic with 15.
Points per quarter Bayern - Khimki: 10-28, 25-12, 21-10, 15-10
FCBB Stats: Derrick Williams (20 points/5 rebounds), Vladimir Lucic (15), Nihad Djedovic (10), Danilo Barthel (7/7), Petteri Koponen (6), Maodo Lo (6), Braydon Hobbs (4), Leon Radosevic (2), Nemanja Dangubic (1), Stefan Jovic, Robin Amaize, Alex King
Quotes:
FCBB head coach, Dejan Radonjic: "The first ten minutes everything went wrong for us, we were really bad. Both offensively and defensively we made a lot of mistakes. Then we acted well, totally different than before. The defense was really strong, and they only scored 32 points in 30 minutes. I'm happy that we were able to show such a reaction with this exhausting schedule."
Derrick Williams: "The key was our defense. We had a terrible first quarter. Then we showed what a team we are and what distinguishes us. We gave up 32 points in three quarters. When we play like this, it's hard to beat us."
1st quarter
Stefan Jovic, Nihad Djedovic, Vladimir Lucic, Danilo Barthel and Leon Radosevic formed the starting five for the Bavarians and it was a rough start. Leon Radosevic's first points were followed by an early 8-2 run for the hosts. The FCBB had problems on offense to and added to their poor play with two unsportsmanlike penalites and by this time the score was shockingly 17-5 for the home team. After ten minutes the score was 28-10 and things could not have started much worse for a group of players that are running on near empty after a brutal schedule.
2nd quarter
Whatever was said during the break must have worked because they came back as a different team and went on a quick 8-0 that forced a Khimki time-out. The leader of the comeback was once again top scorer Derrick Williams, who converted his first three attempts from a distance to bring the score within reach at 33-23. Thanks to a suffocating defense, Bayern was able to benefit greatly from the star player's performance and at the break the Khimki lead was down to seven at 38-31.
3rd quarter
It was clearly noticeable that the Russians again intensified their defense after halftime and Bayern struggled to gain footing on offense and turned the ball over several times. Things were still looking up though as Danilo Barthel brought his team to within three points with a big make from beyond the arc. Munich turned the game on its head when Vladimir Lucic scored from the corner and took the first lead since the first minute. Nihad Djedovic hit another from the corner for the ninth three of the night for the Germans and the lead was quickly up to five points. Khimki was shut down by Munich's strong defense which the visitors used for an 18-2 run. The Bavarians earned themselves a six-point cushion heading into the final quarter, 56-50.
4th quarter
Hobbs/Lucic's teamwork at the beginning of the final section led to two straight buckets twice in a row and it was a good sign after the team had lost Jovic to a back injury. The basis of the Bavarian dominance was the defense, which after the weak first quarter forced Khimki into 16 turnovers and a 63-53 lead. The Russians were no longer able to answer on either side of the court and they cruised to a comfortable win, their tenth in the EuroLeague season.
(Photo-Credit: Chalabov & Stickel)
