UNICS defeated MBA-MAI on the road in Game 3 – 74:63 (24:20, 16:20, 11:13, 23:10).
Game progress
Three-pointers by Aleksandr Platunov and Vladislav Trushkin allowed MBA-MAI to take an early lead – 11:4. The guests got back into the game after a timeout. Solid defense, several fast breaks, Jalen Reynolds and Andrey Lopatin allowed UNICS to take the lead before the end of the first quarter – 24:20.
In the second quarter, the Moscow team switched to fast-paced basketball. Aggressive defense and a swift transition from defense to offense allowed to take the lead. However, the Kazan team still had the last word. Paris Lee alley-oop to Marcus Bingham sent the teams into halftime with the tie – 40:40.
Key moment
At the start of the final quarter, the hosts regained the lead – 63:61. Earlier in this series, the Moscow team had failed to surpass this scoring mark. That didn’t happen now either. Unfortunately for MBA-MAI, this was the last made shot of the game. UNICS’ defense completely shut down MBA-MAI’s offense for the next 7 minutes. The Kazan team had no such problems in offense. Dmitry Kulagin sparked the run. By the end, the Volga team lead was already double digit – 74:63.
X-Factor
The guests truly dominated in the paint and doubled the opponent with this stats: 46–25.
Facts
UNICS became the first Semifinals participant in this VTB League Playoffs.
In this series, UNICS did not allow MBA-MAI to score more than 63 points in any of the games.
Leaders
MBA-MAI: Aleksandr Platunov (16 + 5 assists), Vladislav Trushkin (12), Pavel Savkov (10)
UNICS: Dmitry Kulagin (18), Andrey Lopatin (11 + 5 rebounds), Jalen Reynolds (11 + 6 rebounds), Dyshawn Pierre (7 + 10 rebounds).
