Khimki Moscow beat Desna Bryansk 73-63 in the Russian Superleague on Sunday, moving further clear of the mid-table pack. The visitors took control after a tight opening quarter and never looked back. By then the home side had already missed every second chance they created.
Desna started brighter than their recent record suggested, keeping the score close into the second period. But Khimki changed tempo when it mattered. They ran out of legs by the third quarter, and the visitors punished them from transition. And here's the thing — the home side had nothing to do all evening after that point.
Khimki's form has been steady since returning from their summer break. They beat Rybichi Koursk 83-59 on their last outing, while Desna fell to Universitet-Ugra 76-78. To be fair, the gap between the two sides showed through in the paint rather than on the perimeter.
The visitors sit sixth with 15 wins from 26 games, three points clear of seventh. Desna remain in the lower half and now face a run of away fixtures. By then the table could look very different if they cannot find consistency.
Khimki's defence held the home side to under 65 points for the third time this season. That is a number that separates promotion contenders from the rest. And here's the thing — they did not need more than 73 to put the game to bed early.
