UNICS defeated Nizhny Novgorod on the road, 112-98 (23-25, 27-22, 37-29, 25-22).
Top Scorers
Nizhny Novgorod: Tomislav Zubcic (22), DeAndre Kane (19+5 ast), Dijon Thompson (17+6 reb), Kenny Boynton (14)
UNICS: Quino Colom (26+15 ast), Coty Clarke (21+6 reb+3 stl), Latavious Williams (20+5 reb), Keith Langford (17+5 ast),
Turning Point
The score stayed close in the first half as Kazan took a three-point lead into the locker room (50-47).
But the 3rd quarter belonged to UNICS. Led by Quino Colom, who finished with 26 points and 15 assists on the night, the visitors scored 37 points in the period, leading by as much as 18, 82-64.
Colom had plenty of help as five different UNICS players finished with 16 points or more in the game.
Up 11 entering the 4th quarter, Kazan was able to hold off a spirited comeback attempt led by Ivan Strebkov and Dijon Thompson and secure the win.
Kazan improves to 11-5, snapping a four-game skid. Nizhny drops to 5-11, one game back of 8th-place Astana.
Stat
112 points – Kazan’s biggest output on offense this season and 2nd-most points in club history!
Quotes
Nizhny Novgorod head coach Arturs Stalbergs:
– UNICS came hungry for a win. Our challenge was to prevent any shot attempts under the basket, but that’s where we struggled in the opening minutes. As a result, we started wavering and gave up some 3-pointers, which allowed UNICS to get comfortable. Literally everything was working for them, especially in the 3rd quarter, when they started hitting open shots from almost every spot on the court. In that type of situation, when you’re opponent can’t miss, it’s tough to stay together.
UNICS head coach Evgeny Pashutin:
– After a long series of losses and injuries, we finally played a respectable game. Today was true team basketball on defense and offense. We struggled a bit at the start, when Zubcic hit four 3-pointers, but then we found a way to stop him. Plus, we managed to put up nice stats in almost every category. We got a lot of criticism in January for only dishing out 2-3 assists. Colom alone had 15 today. Overall, the guys did a good job of moving the ball, so everyone was able to score.
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Up Next
Nizhny Novgorod: February vs. Zenit
UNICS: February 20 vs. Khimki
