Krasnodar nearly coughed up a 29-point lead in the 4th quarter, but held on to win by seven and snap a five-game losing streak at the BCMO.
Lokomotiv-Kuban clinches 3rd place with the win, improving to 17-6 on the season.
Khimki needed a win, too, trailing Avtodor for 5th place by half a game entering the May 9 holiday.
But Krasnodar was simply unstoppable in the first half, scorching the Moscow Region defense for 58 points. Khimki trailed by 22 at halftime and 29 entering the 4th quarter.
Крис Бэбб закрывает первую четверть эффектной трешечкой ♨️
— VTB League (@VTBUL) May 9, 2018
Chris @ChrisBabb52 gets the roll to beat the 1st Q Buzzer ♨️ pic.twitter.com/NUN8dPHg6m
A 19-3 run to open the final frame pulled the home team within 13, 83-70, with 4+ minutes remaining. Sasa Obradovic was forced to call a timeout, his team reeling from turnover woes and atrocious shooting.
Krasnodar was able to briefly stem the bleeding and led by 12 with under a minute to go. But Khimki continued to press, forcing several turnovers. Alexey Shved had a chance to cut the lead to three with 10 seconds left, but his triple was off the mark and Krasnodar held on to win.
Moscow Region drops to 12-11. The club needs a win vs. Enisey and Avtodor loss to Astana on Saturday to finish in 5th place. Otherwise, these two teams will meet again in the playoff quarterfinals.