UNICS beat Lokomotiv-Kuban in OT on the road in the Game 1 of semi-finals – 98:87 ОТ (29:16, 17:16, 23:22, 10:25, 19:8).
Top scorers
Lokomotiv-Kuban: Kevin Hervey (24), Mindaugas Kuzminskas (14 + 9 rebounds + 5 assists), Will Cummings (13).
UNICS: John Brown (19 + 13 rebounds + 5 assists + 3 steals), Jamar Smith (19 + 5 rebounds), Okaro White (17), Pavel Antipov (15), Nate Wolters (10 + 5 assists).
Story
In addition to regular-season MVP Mantas Kalnietis, Lokomotiv-Kuban also lost Nigel Williams-Goss before the semifinals. Krasnodar’s starting minutes were just as unnerving, as Okaro White shot twice from beyond the arc and inspired a 13-0 run by UNICS. Loko, thanks to Mindaugas Kuzminskas, halted their downfall, but Kazan held on to their lead, 29-16, after 10 minutes.
🎯 @SiP03 hits 2 straight threes! pic.twitter.com/FK1eApLI78
— VTB League (@VTBUL) May 18, 2021
Kevin Hervey and Andrei Martyuk seemed to get Lokomotiv back into the game early in the second quarter, an 8-0 mini-acceleration and only -5. UNICS came alive after Pavel Antipov’s 3-pointer, which was the x-factor in the second quarter: three three-pointers and 11 points. Kuban, on the other hand, struggled from beyond the arc, where 0 of 8 shots in the first half were little help coming back. The Kazan club regained control of the game, as well as a double-digit lead, 46-32, by halftime.
After the break, Drew Gordon stepped up, making his first three-pointer of the evening, followed by a pair of traditional baskets. Hervey joined his teammate as well. UNICS stopped another Krasnodar comeback attempt thanks to long-range shots from White and Jamar Smith, as well as good defense: Loko scored 5 points in the final 5 minutes of the third quarter, all from the line. Kazan shot well, in particular, Dmitriy Uzinsky stepped up his game. The teams headed into the final frame with the score, 69-54, in favor of the visitors.
After another shot by Antipov, UNICS led 75-56. Evgeny Pashutin found a workable combination on the court, however, with Grigoriy Motovilov and Reggie Lynch. Over the next minutes, Lokomotiv slowly picked up pace and began to gradually decrease the deficit: a 16-4 run and 74-79 lead with 2 minutes left to play – clutch.
After a Dimitrios Priftis timeout, the script didn’t change. First, Motovilov shot from beyond the arc, and with 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter Lynch sealed off his opponent under the basket and evened the score. The final possession came from Isaiah Canaan, but he was denied by Kuzminskas – overtime.
Key moment
Sergey Dolinin’s dunk early in overtime gave Lokomotiv their first lead, but the score was short-lived. UNICS recharged, thanks to the energy of the tireless John Brown, who collected more offensive rebounds (9 in total). The visitors grabbed the lead thanks to a three by Wolters, then Smith chipped in with 9 points in overtime. Perhaps Loko’s biggest problem, though, was their struggles on offense: In overtime, only young Russians Dolinin and Vladislav Emchenko scored, as well as Lynch once. UNICS quickly regained their composure after a disappointing fourth quarter and took Game 1 of the series.
Hero
John Brown. Different players came to the fore at different points in the game for UNICS, but Brown was extremely valuable throughout the game and took the lead in overtime. The forward had 19 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 29 efficiency points.
Stat
3 – That’s how many years have passed since the last overtime game in the playoffs. On May 28, 2018, the same UNICS beat Nizhny Novgorod in the extra five minutes.
Comments
Lokomotiv-Kuban head coach Evgeny Pashutin:
– We started very soft, just like we did against Khimki, which is simply unacceptable on a home court. I understand that it’s my responsibility. As the game went on we managed to catch up with the opponent and take the game to overtime, but everything comes from defense. When we play good defense, rebounding, quick transition to offense and ball movement, the game is completely different. Not the way we played today but the way we have been playing all season long.
UNICS head coach Dimitrios Priftis:
– It was a very emotional game with a tough ending. First of all I want to congratulate Loko for the way they fought and played in the game. Without their two point guards they certainly didn’t do their best, but they have a lot of big, strong players on their roster, which gave us some problems during the game. Loko played a good fourth quarter and had a great game. In overtime we pulled together and played as a team, but we’ll have to be more serious in the next game.
Next
Game 2 takes place on May 20 in Krasnodar
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