By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Bobby Dixon was pretty much a non-factor in the game until the last quarter. However, when Fenerbahce was in need, he saved the day on the way to the 93-85 win.
With the score tied at 66 at the start of the last period, the hosts needed a leader to make a stand against Khimki. And Dixon made three three-pointers on an 11-4 run which gave to Fenerbahce a crucial seven points advantage (77-70) and stopped the Russian charge.
Fenerbahce finished the first half with a 54-43 lead thanks to a buzzer-beating three by Kostas Sloukas, but the third period started with a 10-0 run (54-53) that put the guests back in the game.
As Fenerbahce’s coach Zeljko Obradovic admitted: “Except for the third quarter, everything was good. We played good basketball against a good team. As I said before the game, I expected them to change and they changed. This is not something new that they shot a lot of three-point shots”.
Khimki’s coach Giorgos Bartzokas added: “I think we had a chance to win it, which is not easy over here against such a very strong team that punishes you for every mistake. Our problem was the defense, especially in the first 20 minutes. We went out without any desire to play defense, to use our bodies or to fight. We allowed them 54 points in the first half, too many. Our defensive approach changed in the third quarter”,
Alexey Shved with 26 points, six threes, eight assists and also six turnovers had a good game, Tony Crocker added 17 points and the shot that tied the game for Khimki, but all Dixon’s bombs were backbreakers.
He finished the game with 14 points, making one more crucial three in the closing seconds (89-80), while Nicolo Melli with 16 from the first half was the top scorer of Fenerbahce. Gigi Datome added also 14 points and Jan Vesely got 12.
“This is a league where we need to forget immediately what happened because in two days we have a game against Efes“, said Bartzokas.
Photo credit: EuroLeague