ALBA Berlin claimed its third victory of the season by pummelling Khimki Moscow Region 100-80 at home on Thursday night.
Sikma, Giffey lead ALBA to big win over Khimki
Game Report
1 min read
ALBA Berlin claimed its third victory of the season by pummelling Khimki Moscow Region 100-80 at home on Thursday night. Khimki made a red-hot start to march into a 0-10 lead, but ALBA soon bounced back to move in front early in the second quarter. The home side continued to score consistently from both long-range and close to the basket, moving 20 ahead midway through the fourth quarter and cruising the rest of the way. Luka Sikma starred with 20 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals and Niels Giffey made 4 of 4 three-pointers in his career-high 22 points. Ben Lammers added 18 points and 7 boards with Maodo Lo (11), Simone Fontecchio (10) and Louis Olinde (10) all scoring in double figures. Jonas Jerebko led Khimki with 20 points and Alexey Shved had a double-double of 11 points and 10 assists, but also committed 7 turnovers. Vyacheslav Zaytsev added 11 points for Khimki. ALBA improved to 3-6, and Khimki stayed next-to-bottom at 2-8.
Zaytsev’s steal and slam opened the scoring and after Jordan Mickey added a layup Zaytsev dunked again for a 0-6 lead. Jerebko’s three-point play made it 0-10. Lammers scored inside for ALBA’s first basket and Sikma added a reverse layup-and-one as the host came back. Sikma’s driving layup was followed by scores from Giffey and Lo, before a three-point play by from Olinde tied it at 17-17. Zaytsev’s jumper and Janis Timma’s triple sent Khimki back ahead and Greg Monroe’s jump hook completed a 0-7 run. Giffey’s three made it 20-24 after 10 minutes. Fontecchio opened the second quarter from deep and a Lammers tip-in made it 25-24. Giffey’s triple completed a 10-0 run, which was snapped by Monroe from close range. Jayson Granger nailed another triple and Fontecchio’s fastbreak dunk extended the margin to 32-26. Shved scored his first basket from deep, but Giffey and Lammers moved ALBA further ahead. Lammers added two more close-range scores for a 42-34 lead, but Jerebko and Mickey brought Khimki back in a 0-7 run. Lo, Jerebko and Peyton Siva struck from deep as the fast scoring continued, and Olinde’s reverse layup made it 50-44 at the half.
Fontecchio’s triple opened the second half scoring and 4 consecutive points from Sikma gave ALBA a double-digit lead, 57-46. Consecutive triples from Giffey stretched the advantage as Khimki continued to struggle. Olinde’s three-pointer made it 70-54 before Khimki briefly rallied through Errick McCollum inside and Shved from deep. Sikma scored 5 more points before Sergey Monia finished the third quarter with a corner three, making it 77-62. Monroe tipped in at the start of the final quarter, but he then fouled out after a technical. Sikma’s alley-oop layup and Lammers with a fadeaway jumper kept ALBA moving and it was 86-68 after Lammers stayed hot with a layup in penetration. Lo's triple took the lead to 20 points midway through the fourth and Giffey soon added another deep strike. Giffey and Sikma continued to punish Khimki inside and Olinde brought up triple figures from the foul line in the final minute.
Game Leaders
Home record point tally for ALBA
This was the second-highest non-overtime point tally registered in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague for ALBA and the best ever at home. The German champs' total of 100 points was only beaten by a 96-102 win at AX Armani Exchange Milan in February.
Siva shines in assists record
ALBA’s outstanding offensive production was largely explained by excellent ball movement, which allowed the host to set a new club record with 29 assists, which was also the third-highest recorded by any team so far this season. Peyton Siva led the way with 10 assists, with Jayson Granger providing 6 and Luke Sikma dishing 5.
Unwanted turnover record for Khimki
The home team was also strong defensively, playing with great energy to force Khimki into 23 turnovers – the joint highest in Khimki’s history, tied with an 87-69 loss at Olympiacos Piraeus in February 2010. Alexey Shved committed 7 of those turnovers and also only shot 3 of 15 from the field.