The Finnish guard came off the bench for season-highs of 23 points and 7 assists en route to a performance index rating of 35, which was the most among all players in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague this week to make him the Top 16 Game 12 bwin MVP. Koponen missed just one shot total – one of his 4 from behind the arc – in a near perfect performance. He also committed just a single turnover en route to him impressive totals. Beyond the stats, Koponen had a hand in all of Khimki’s points in an 11-2 charge to finish the third quarter that restored his team’s dominance and paved the way to victory. Zalgiris big man Darjus Lavrinovic was next on the list of Top 16 Week 12 dominance. He paced the Lithuanian champs to a 79-71 victory over Anadolu Efes with 24 points – 7-of-8 two-point shooting and 3 of 4 from downtown – plus 5 rebounds and 1 block for an index rating of 28. Koponen’s teammate Sergey Monya posted a 26 index in their win. He drained 4 threes en route to 18 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and a block in a strong all-around effort. Rounding out the list of the week’s best are Bobby Brown of Montepaschi Siena and Sharrod Ford of Brose Baskets Bamberg, each with index ratings of 25. Brown had 19 points and 8 assists in a 72-70 loss at Besiktas JK Istanbul. For recorded 16 points and 9 boards in a 72-75 loss to Alba Berlin.

Individual leaders: Shawn James of Maccabi Electra, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks

Darjus Lavrinovic was the week’s top scorer with 1 more point than weekly MVP Koponen. Injured Fenerbahce Ulker scorer Bojan Bogdanoivc remains atop the Top 16 charts with 21.8 points per game. Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv center Shawn James hauled in 10 rebounds – the most of any player all week – in a 67-73 victory at Olympiacos Piraeus. His 7.1 rebounds per game are second only to CSKA Moscow forward Viktor Khryapa (8.1 rpg.) in this phase of the season. James was also the week’s No. 1 shot blocker with 4 and the Top 16 leader with 2.3 rejections per game. Bobby Brown and former MVP Dimitris Diamantidis of Panathinaikos were the week’s leading assist men with 8 each. Brown (4.9 apg.) and Diamantidis (6.8 apg.) rank fifth and third, respectively, in Top 16 assists. Zoran Planinic of BC Khimki sits atop the Top 16 assist charts with 7.1 assists per game. Bo McCalebb of Fenerbahce Ulker swiped 5 balls this week and now leads all Top 16 players with 2.4 steals per game.