UNICS beat Pari NN and guaratnees place in Top 3

UNICS beat Pari NN and guaratnees place in Top 3

UNICS beat Pari Nizhny Novgorod at home – 76:68 (21:14, 16:16, 17:23, 22:15).

Game progress
Aggressive defense and a few quick possessions allowed UNICS to take the lead at the start of the game – 12:4. But the guests quickly came to senses and equalised the game. Moreover, at the beginning of the second quarter, Nizhny Novgorod made a 10-point run, which was crowned by fastbreak layup by Aleksandr Chadov. After that, Pari NN took the lead for the first time in the game – 24:23.

But Mikhail Belenitskii, Tony Taylor, Ismael Bako and Dmitry Kulagin made an 8-point run, after which UNICS regained a comfortable lead. The Kazan team went into the halftime with a 7-point lead – 37:30.

Key moment
Nizhny Novgorod again took the lead – 44:43. The Kazan team caught the momentum and the game was equal until the middle of the final quarter. But UNICS’ sharpshooters got involved at the decisive moment. Three-pointers by Marcos Knight, DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell and Kulagin gave the hosts a double-digit lead 3 minutes before the end – 70:60. The guests tried to save the game. But a series of misses and a lack of time did not let Pari NN from getting closer to the opponent.

X-factor
Tony Taylor recovered from injury and played for the first time since February 5. The guard has not yet regained optimal shape, but that didn’t stop from becoming the main option for UNICS’ offense in the third quarter. When Nizhny Novgorod took the initiative and the lead, Taylor made important shots. As a result, the Kazan team guard finished the game with 12 points and the best plus/minus among all players (+13).

Facts
Today’s win guaranteed UNICS a spot in the Top 3.

UNICS has won 7 games in a row. This is the third longest active winning streak.

Leaders
UNICS: DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell (21 + 7 assists), Tony Taylor (12), Dmitry Kulagin (11 + 7 assists + 5 rebounds), Marcos Knight (11), Ismael Bako (10 + 8 rebounds).
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: Aleksandr Chadov (15 + 5 rebounds), Alex Hamilton (11 + 6 rebounds + 6 assists + 4 steals), Ilya Karpenkov (10 + 6 rebounds), Sergey Zotkin (10).

What’s next
UNICS: April 5 on the road against Lokomotiv Kuban.
Pari Nizhny Novgorod: April 1 at home versus Avtodor.