UNICS defeated Pari Nizhny Novgorod at home – 102:66 (23:22, 33:18, 19:12, 27:14)
Game progress
Both teams played without important defensive players: Louis Labeyrie, Evgenii Baburin and Nemanja Djurisic missed the game. That’s why both teams immediately started looking for offensive chances. The guests started confidently and led almost the entire first quarter, but the Kazan team 7:0 run allowed to take the initiative. In the second quarter, UNICS started to play better defense, while Andrey Lopatin was solid in offense. His long-range shots increased the difference from 7 to 14 points. By the end of the first half, the hosts led – 56:40.
Nizhny Novgorod couldn’t get back into the game. The Kazan team continued to increase the lead. Finally, Marcos Knight helped UNICS reach first 100 of the season. Velimir Perasovic team got one of the biggest win of the season and moved up to 3rd place in the standings, passing Lokomotiv Kuban.
X-factor
UNICS is the best defensive team of the regular season. This time the Kazan team defense worked even better than usual: UNICS let opponents score 69.3 on average.
Facts
UNICS scored season-high 102 points.
The Kazan team hasn’t lost to Nizhny at home since November 2014.
Leaders
UNICS: Marcos Knight (29 + 6 rebounds), Andrey Lopatin (15), Jalen Reynolds (12 + 6 rebounds), DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell (10 + 11 assists), Dmitry Kulagin (9 + 6 assists), Tony Taylor (10), Ismael Bako (8 + 8 rebounds).
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: Aubrey Dawkins (15), Ilya Karpenkov (12 + 6 rebounds), Zach Nutall (12), Aleksandr Khomenko (11), Aleksandr Chadov (3 + 6 rebounds).
What’s next
UNICS: December 18 on the road against Zenit
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: December 18 at home versus Enisey.
