UNICS beat Samara at home – 86:70 (19:12, 18:15, 25:21, 24:22).
Game progress
The game started with Brendan Adams mid-range shot, then Ismael Bako tied the score. The game was equal until the middle of the first quarter, but towards the end of the quarter the hosts made a run – 19:12.
In the second quarter, Velimir Perasovic team continued to build the lead with DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell 12 points. Samara forward Hayden Dalton also scored 12 before the start of the third quarter. The Kazan team had 10-point lead by the halftime – 37:27.
Key moment
The third quarter was the key. The hosts became even more active in offense and were able to increase the lead before the final quarter – 62:48. With a 14-5 run at the start of the fourth quarter, UNICS finally dashed Samara hopes for its first win of the season.
X-factor
Good shooting percentage helped UNICS lead almost the entire game: 61.3% of two-pointers and 37.9% of three-pointers by the hosts, compared to 45.2% of two-pointers and 27.8% three-pointers by the guests.
Facts
This game was the 15th rivlary between the Kulagin brothers, and the first in which Dmitry and Mikhail were teams’ captains. Symbolically, Dmitry Kulagin took third place in the VTB League’s all-time assists (777). Alexey Shved (1311) is in first place and Dmitrii Khvostov (1052) is in second.
Andrey Lopatin reached the 1,000 points mark for his VTB League career with 8 points tonight. He became the 89th player in history to achieve it.
Jalen Reynolds scored 15 points and moved into the VTB League’s all-time scoring Top 20 (1,768). Andrey Zubkov ranked 19th and has 1,787.
Leaders
UNICS: DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell (18 + 8 assists + 6 rebounds), Jalen Reynolds (15 + 7 rebounds), Mikhail Belenitskii (14 + 5 rebounds), Ismael Bako (12 + 5 rebounds), Tony Taylor (10 + 6 assists).
Samara: Mikhail Kulagin (18), Hayden Dalton (15 + 7 rebounds), Anton Kardanakhishvili (12), Ronnie Harrell (10 + 7 rebounds).
What’s next
UNICS: September 29 at home against Zenit
Samara: October 2 on the road versus MBA-MAI.
