Zenit St. Petersburg defeated PARMA Perm on the road, 99-94 (21-25, 29-27, 21-25, 28-17).
Top Scorers
PARMA: Codi Miller-McIntyre (24 + 9 reb + 6 ast), Tre’ McLean (19), Yannick Moreira (17 + 6 reb)
Zenit: Kyle Kuric (33), Evgeny Voronov (16), Demonte Harper (14 + 5 reb)
Story
In a game that featured five lead changes in the final five minutes and 193 combined points, Zenit guard Kyle Kuric made big play after big play down the stretch to lead the visitors to victory.
The American poured in 33 points on 10-16 shooting, scoring his team’s final six points in a come-from-behind win.
Despite trailing the visitors by five games in the standings, PARMA led most of the contest, cheered on by a capacity crowd in the Molot Arena. Codi Miller-McIntyre nearly recorded a triple-double, finishing one rebounds and four assists shy to go with 24 points. As a team, PARMA shot 41% from beyond the arc (10-24) and led by six entering the final quarter.
Zenit shifted the momentum with two triples to open the 4th, setting up a wild finish.
With less than two minutes remaining, Miller-McIntyre made one of two free throws to pull PARMA within one, 93-92. Kuric scored on the next possession and after McLean came up empty at the other end, scored again to make it a five-point game.
The visitors were able to get within three with 20 seconds to play, but Kuric iced the victory with two free throws, helping Zenit notch its 10th win of the season. The home team falls to 4-8.
Nice Play
Блокшот Фрэнка Гейнса и слэмданк в быстром отрыве от Тре МакЛина 💥 pic.twitter.com/nnyEUmtAAA
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) January 21, 2018
Stat
22-8 – Zenit made 14 more free throws than PARMA, shooting 95% at the line. PARMA made only 57%, including two big misses in the final minutes.
Quotes
PARMA head coach Nikolajs Mazurs:
– This was an even, tightly-played game. We made a few mistakes that decided the outcome in the end. We also weren’t clutch enough to win.
Zenit head coach Vasily Karasev:
– This was a very tough game, which is what we expected. PARMA is playing very well this season, which they’ve proved in recent games. They have a young, aggressive team that really wants to win. I know for myself how tough it is to win in Perm. After losing two of our leaders, Karasev and Gordon, other guys needed to step up. We didn’t at first, which showed up in the box score. Giving up 52 points in a half is not acceptable. We only woke up after falling behind by 16 points and found the right lineup to allow us to win. A win is a win.
Up Next
PARMA: January 28 away vs. UNICS
Zenit: February 3 home vs. Nizhny Novgorod
Photos
