By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Bayern Munich didn’t let go of the lead in the second half stopping multiple comebacks from Khimki and securing a 72-65 home win in Round 11 of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Nihad Djedovic led the victors with 14 points while Vladimir Lucic scored 13 and Derrick Williams added ten points. Stefan Jovic registered nine points and assists flirting with a double-double.
For Khimki, Charles Jenkins and Jordan Mickey scored 12 each in addition to Stefan Markovic and Thomas Malcolm’s ten points each.
Both squads put on steel defense from the start not allowing any easy points. The first quarter ended up with a tie (16-16) but Bayern, despite shooting only 1/8 from deep and turning the ball eight times, went on the halftime rest with a 31-28.
.@DWXXIII sees space and attacks the rim and throws down a monster dunk! ?#7DAYSMagicMoment pic.twitter.com/hczi0ErwvJ
— EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) December 6, 2018
“We fought today. We played as a team. We needed something more on offense. Our offensive performance was really poor. We had a lot of open looks. We needed to score in those situations. We didn’t. We needed a better offensive game today to beat Bayern. On defense, we tried to play a good defensive game and I think we had a good defensive performance”, Khimki coach Georgios Bartzokas noted.
After the break, Bayern notched two shots from behind the arc on their way to a 12-4 run and the first double-digit advantage of the game (43-32). Although Khimki immediately bounced back with a 12-4 run of their own (47-44), they had trouble dealing with Derrick Williams on the low post and the hosts’ triangle offense which kept them ahead until the end along with a few much-needed shots by Djedovic.
Bayern boss Dejan Radonjic was overall pleased with his squad’s performance: “I said before the game I expect an interesting and tough game and it was exactly like that. Defensively it was correct. We had some problems with guys with too many fouls, and we changed something during the game. It was a close for most of the game, but we had an advantage at the end of the game. For me, it was important how we played in the last few minutes. Defensively and offensively, getting rebounds, smart on offense. It was a big win for us so I am happy.”
Bayern improved to 5-6 after this win while Khimki now holds a 4-7 record.
Photo Credit: FC Bayern Basketball