Kazan duo top Khimki, CSKA take revenge in Perm, Loko with W in Krasnoyarsk but without Williams. Week in review

Kazan duo top Khimki, CSKA take revenge in Perm, Loko with W in Krasnoyarsk but without Williams. Week in review

Major topics of United League’s last week of autumn.

UNICS break losing streak against Khimki

UNICS hosted Khimki in the Game of the week. This is one of the most abundant rivalries in the Leauge: Khimki won 15 of 24 games including the last 5. The Yellow-blues also should be a special opponent for Dimitris Priftis. The Greek coach took UNICS to playoffs twice and both times they were stopped by Khimki in the semifinals.

The Game of the Week was intense. Isaiah Canaan made amends for last 2 games, and started this one of 3 three-pointers in a row to bring a lead in the very first minutes of the game.

A little bit later, he started a fast break that was finished with Jamar Smith’s three-pointer.

Smith was the one to get UNICS to their maximum lead in the game (+13 in the second half).

Khimki managed to erase the difference and even levelled, but the rhythm of the game was beyond their limits. The guests didn’t have a moment of lead within all 40 minutes, and equal score (including 0-0 at the begining) kept for 88 seconds overall.

Isaiah Canaan and Jamar Smith were the heroes of the game. This duo scored 41 points and 11 assists combined:

It’s curious that UNICS had struggled to beat Khimki for exactly year and a half: since May 22, 2019 till November 22, 2020. Now Kazan broke the unlucky record and reached positive record in the table. Meanwhile, with only one game in December, Khimki are doomed to finish 2020 with a negative record.

Comeback of the week

2 days before game vs Khimki, UNICS had announced transfer of Jordan Theodore. The point guard had played for Kazan last season with an average of 10.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists.

Moreover, the guard won NBA 2K – Pro Cup held by the United League this April.

Loko win in Krasnoyarsk but lose Williams

Lokomotiv-Kuban got their 6th win in Krasnoyarsk beating Enisey with confidence – 106:79. Alan WIlliams was Kuban’s hero that night as Dustin Hogue, Ilia Popov and Aleksandr Gudumak had nothing to stop the guests’ center. Within 25 minutes on the court, Williams scored 24 points and 13 rebounds. This was his 6th double-double in 7 games. Loko player already climbed to the 7th place of All-time VTB League double-double table.

Alan also worked in defense with a career high of 4 steals. However, some minutes before the buzzer, the center injured his knee and only doctors could help him leave the court. The injury is under examination, but Williams will ceratinly be missed. As of today, Loko’s center is the best in League in PPG (22.1), rebounds (13.1) and efficiency (30.0).

CSKA take revenge in Perm

The early part of the season was highlighted by PARMA’s comeback and win over CSKA in Moscow. Maxim Grigoryev had sanked game-winning three, and Perm had downed CSKA for the first time ever.

No doubt, CSKA didn’t forget it and came to Perm with extreme motivation to win. Even after a Euroleague’s double week, the Army club showed solid defense and reached +19 margin by the halftime break. Having the 2-month-old comeback in his memory, Dimitris Itoudis kept his side on pacing up, and only 5 minutes before the buzzer did the young players receive their chance on court. By the way, Andrey Lopatin managed to score 11 points with 3 of 3 field goals.

CSKA got their 5th win of the season, while PARMA suffered third loss in a month. The troubled form was noted by Perm’s head coach Kazys Maksvytis, “We have to admit that this break got us off the rhythm and our current performance is poor.”

Team of the week

Standings