Dominated from start to finish! How Khryapa beat Bosh’s Toronto in the final seconds
Andrey Antson September 19, 2024, 18:15 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Viktor had a great performance in the special project “The best Russian games in the NBA”.
You are reading the material: a special project “The best games of Russians in the NBA”, prepared by the publication “Championship”. You can familiarize yourself with the rest of the project materials by following the link or by clicking on the plate below.
Although Khryapa spent only four partial seasons in the NBA, during one of them he took on the role of a starting player for the Portland Trail Blazers – this happened in the 2005/2006 season. Victor played in 69 games, starting 53 of them. However, he averaged only 21 minutes on the court (not much for a starting player) and scored 5.8 points per game.
On offense, Victor did not pose a serious threat to his opponents. However, there were matches in which, thanks to his data and talent, he was able to prove his worth on both sides of the court. A great example was Portland’s game against the Toronto Raptors on June 18, 2006.
Victor Khryapa in 2004
Photo: Sam Forencich/NBAE/Getty Images
Halfway through the regular season, both teams had a negative win-loss record, but were still hoping to make the playoffs. Chris Bosh was already Toronto’s main star, but the quality of the players around him left much to be desired. But the bench was interesting: Jaylen Rose, Charlie Villanueva, Matt Bonner and Jose Calderon.
Portland was also in the early stages of building a quality franchise. Zach Randolph shared the frontcourt with Khryapa: a great pairing. They were helped by point guard Stephen Blake, and off the bench came the still-very-young Jarrett Jack and Sebastian Telfair (who hadn’t yet ruined his career).
In the first quarter there was a fight for the initiative, but Portland turned out to be a little better and went into the first break in the lead. In the second quarter, the close game continued to delight the crowd, with the teams exchanging blows. Portland’s offensive leaders were Randolph and Khryapa, who had already scored 13 points at the big break. Meanwhile, Chris Bosh had a very difficult time on defense and in the fight for rebounds.
Portland began to pull away in the third quarter and secured a double-digit lead. In 2006, comebacks in these situations were much rarer than they are now, so it looked like the Trail Blazers had the game in their hands. But the Canadian team made an incredible run in the second half of the fourth quarter to trigger a tense ending.
Zach Randolph in 2006
Photo: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
Bosh gave the Raptors the lead with a minute left. Randolph answered, but Chris struck again. There were 31 seconds left with the score at 94:93 in Toronto’s favor. Juan Dixon then fouled Portland and put Portland back in front from the free throw line.
Raptors attack, Mike James shoots (not the one you were thinking of) and… misses. Who wins the fight for the national team? Our Victor Khryapa! He was immediately fouled and the Russian was able to convert one of two free throws. Bosh’s desperate attempt from distance at the siren was inaccurate. Portland won!
Khryapa finished the game with 18 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals. It was a top-notch performance from Victor and his teammate Randolph (22+8+7), made possible by Portland’s dominance in the paint. How many games like this could we have seen from Khryapa if it weren’t for the unpleasant circumstances that befell him then? But we wrote about this in our previous article about Victor.
Khryapa’s NBA story:
The day Khryapa beat Stoudemire. Injuries, love for CSKA and friendship with Monya
