NINERS Chemnitz finished off their improbable comeback and booked the final ticket to the easyCredit BBL playoffs by beating MLP Academics Heidelberg 81-74 on the road. In a winner-takes-all game, Chemnitz rallied from 10 points down in the third quarter to collect their fifth victory in the last six games to reach the post-season for the second straight season. Marko Filipovity and Mindaugas Susinkas both tallied 14 points as Chemnitz charged back from an 11-17 record to 16-18 and eighth place. Heidelberg just missed the post-season with a 15-19 mark.
Game summary: Heidelberg, who would have reached the playoffs had they won the game, was the first team to open a bit of a gap with six straight points to lead 15-9. The hosts had seven players score and were up 19-13 but Chemnitz pulled within 22-20 after 10 minutes. Kevin Yebo and Nelson Weidemann stepped up their games to start the second quarter and Chemnitz surged ahead 27-24. Heidelberg countered with an 11-2 run to grab a 40-34 advantage and the hosts were up 40-36 at the break.
Vincent Kesteloot started the second half on fire with 9 points to give Heidelberg the first double-digit lead of the game 50-40. Chemnitz held the hosts scoreless for nearly 4 minutes and clawed to within 52-48. The guests kept working hard on defense and knotted the game 54-54 after 30 minutes. Chemnitz scored the first 5 points of the final frame to lead 59-54. Eric Washington converted a three-point play to get Heidelberg within 68-67. Jonas Richter answered with four points and Wes Clark buried a dagger three-pointer with 93 seconds left and a 77-71 lead. Clark added two free throws with 29 seconds to go to end any hopes of a Heidelberg comeback.
Numbers please: Heidelberg shot 71.4 percent on two-pointers but committed 19 turnovers and allowed Chemnitz to turn 14 offensive rebounds into 18 second chance points. Chemnitz also converted 24-of-31 free throws to 13-of-16 for Heidelberg.
Player of the game: Kevin Yebo fought past foul troubles to collect 13 points and 9 rebounds for Chemnitz. The big man made just 3-of-4 field goal attempts as he drew eight fouls and converted 7-of-11 free throws.
The Germans: In addition to Yebo's excellent effort, Jonas Richter scored 10 points and Dominic Lockhart contributed 2 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals for Chemnitz. Max Ugrai netted 10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in a losing effort.
Also newsworthy Part I: Chemnitz grabbed their victory despite a subpar offensive showing from starting point guard Arnas Velicka, who finished with just 2 points on 0-of-5 shots and 2-of-4 free throws though he did have 3 assists and 1 steal without committing a turnover.
Also newsworthy Part II: Vincent Kesteloot led Heidelberg with 19 points and 8 rebounds and Jack McVeigh had 11 points and 8 rebounds, but Chemnitz did a good job frustrating Eric Washington. The Heidelberg leader did score 12 points but he made just 4-of-11 shots and Chemnitz forced him into 7 turnovers.
Also newsworthy Part III: Looking ahead to the playoffs, Chemnitz lost both games to Telekom Baskets Bonn this season - 80-73 on the road on December 26, 2022 and 91-89 at home on March 26.
What’s up next: Chemnitz will start their easyCredit BBL playoffs first round series against regular season champions Telekom Baskets Bonn. Heidelberg meanwhile enter the off-season with their 2022-23 campaign now over.
Video: Highlights for this game available in the upper right under the tab "Video" or here at MAGENTA SPORT.
Anmerkung: In der Saison 2022/23 werden wie hier auch gelegentlich Nachberichte in englischer Sprache verfasst.
Note: During the 2022-23 season, there will occasionally be game reports published in English.
