CSKA vs Khimki: 89-101
CSKA's starting five was the same as in the first game of the semifinal series. Dusan Ivkovic started Holden, Chatzivrettas, Monya, Songaila and Alexander. The opening minutes seemed like deja vu to the fans. The same pre-game highlight film, the same determination and accuracy of the players in the blue and yellow uniforms, and Vladimir Demin put Khimki ahead in the same way he did before, driving and scoring to give the visitors a 2-0 lead. But at that point the games ceased to resemble one another. Holden hit a 3-pointer to put the home team up, and with five minutes gone, CSKA held a 12-2 lead. Having finished the first quarter with a 31-18 lead, the home team slowly began to lose concentration on defense and committing several fouls. As a result, practically all of Khimki's scoring in the second quarter came from the foul line. The first warning bells for CSKA came with 15 minutes gone in the game when Kurtenok cut the lead to four points (38-34). But the Army team handled it. In the beginning, Papaloukas sliced through the defense like a knife through butter. Then Panov denied Dedushkin, stealing the ball from him and scoring an easy two points with the foul. It looked like CSKA's 11-point lead meant that the Army team would beginning dotting all of their "i"s. But an entirely different half of basketball awaited the fans.
The intermission proved to be more helpful for Sergei Yelevich's team than for the home team. Having wagered on hard-nosed defense - the referees allowed them to do it - Khimki was able to stop CSKA's offense. The visitor's advantage under the basket became more and more evident. And the team in blue and yellow managed to go on a 20-5 run in the quarter. The margin, having maxed out at 10 points, began to melt by the of the quarter. It was obvious that Khimki had gathered courage. Krasnikov and Vadeyev, having shut down Chatzivrettas, practically didn't miss. And Vitaly Nosov threw down two dunks on the CSKA defense. With 2:21 left in the third quarter, Krasnikov evened the score at 62-62. And at the buzzer, Vadeyev hit a 3-pointer to put the visitors up 67-65 going into the final period.
The beginning of the fourth quarter displayed some hope that Dusan Ivkovic had managed to wake his team up. Two straight corner 3-pointers by Sergei Monya put CSKA up 71-67. But CSKA had nothing else to offer. Khimki answered Monya's 3-pointers (4-6 in the fourth quarter) with a well-rounded offensive arsenal. Even Alexei Vadeyev's fifth foul didn't seriously affect the proceedings on the parquet. With about two minutes remaining, CSKA began to foul intentionally, trailing by four points (87-83). But all attempts by the home team to cut into the lead proved to be in vain. Khimki players cold-bloodedly dropped in their free-throws (51 total in the game) and defended effectively on the perimeter. As a result, Sergey Yelevich's team became the only team to beat CSKA in the USH CSKA this season.
The final score was 101-89 in favor of Khimki, and the series evened up at 1-1.
The next game will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Dinamo Sports Palace at Lavochkina 32.
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