CSKA Moscow defeated UNICS Kazan at home, 80-63 (23-9, 22-17, 23-25, 12-12).
Top Scorers
CSKA: Othello Hunter (14), Cory Higgins (12), Nando De Colo (12 + 6 ast)
UNICS: Trent Lockett (13 + 9 reb), Maurice Ndour (13 + 8 reb), Anton Ponkrashov (10)
Story
CSKA capitalized on a 17-3 run to open the game, leading by double digits the rest of the way to secure an important win in Moscow.
UNICS briefly tested the Army Men early in the 4th quarter, opening on an 8-1 run that cut the deficit to 10, 69-59, with more than six minutes remaining.
CSKA forward Nikita Kurbanov responded by draining a 3 and the home team quickly pushed the lead back to 17, liquidating the Tatar threat.
UNICS entered the game in 1st place, boasting a nine-game winning streak and 15-1 record, but ended the day in 2nd. CSKA improves to a League-best 18-2 and has pole position on the top seed in the postseason.
The home team featured balanced scoring. Back-up center Othello Hunter led CSKA in scoring with 14 points, while Nando De Colo and Cory Higgins each added 12. The Army Men did most of their damage in the paint, outscoring Kazan 34-24 inside the arc and 23-11 at the free-throw line.
UNICS only shot 32% from the field as a team, losing big despite outrebounding CSKA 39-35, including a +9 in offensive rebounds.
Stat
15 – Trailing 3-2 after Jamar Smith’s triple, CSKA went on a 15-0 run to seize control of the game.
Alley-Oop Finish
Sergio @SergioRodriguez sets up the alley-oop to Othello @othello_hunter for the DUNK 😯 pic.twitter.com/RsQtCOup6y
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) April 2, 2018
Quotes
CSKA head coach Dimitris Itoudis:
– Congratulations to the team on the win. We managed to bounce back from the game with Zalgiris, where we played beneath our standards. We analyzed that game and figured out where we could improve. For 28-30 minutes, we played excellent basketball. We read every situation and switch and communicated on defense. If I’m not mistaken, UNICS is averaging 86 points per game and we held them well below that number. They shot 33% from the field, 33% from inside the arc. Our only issue was offensive rebounding, like in the first game, but we decided to give them that. Yes, we moved into 1st place in the VTB League, which is not as significant under the new format. At the same time, we keep working to be the best we can be. After all, we are CSKA. We play hard for own pride and our fans, who came out despite it being a Monday evening game.
UNICS head coach Dimitris Priftis:
– Congratulations to CSKA on the win. They really played well, not just today, but in a lot of games recently. Obviously, we were shaky to begin and fell behind big in the first half. We showed we can play better in the second half. We were more aggressive, pressed all over the court and knocked down some shots… Now we need to shift our focus. We have three games in nine days and the situation is complicated by Shukhovtsov’s injury, who appears to have broken his hand. I was also want to wish CSKA luck in the future.
Up Next
CSKA: April 9 away vs. Nizhny Novgorod
UNICS: April 5 away vs. Avtodor
Images of the Game
