Miracle in Kazan: UNICS come back from -20

Miracle in Kazan: UNICS come back from -20

UNICS outplayed Avtodor at home – 86:83 (11:25, 24:23, 25:11, 26:24).

Top scorers
UNICS: Alex Tyus (27 + 8 rebounds), Jamar Smith (19 + 6 rebounds), Jordan Theodore (9 + 5 rebounds + 8 assists).
Avtodor: Markel Starks (24 + 6 assists), Elgin Cook (20 + 9 rebounds), Isaiah Hicks (14 + 7 rebounds).

Story
New year brought bad news for Kazan. It all started with Markel Starks’ 7 points in 2 minutes. The hosts missed shots and made turnovers, while Elgin Cook and Isaiah Hicks added to Avtodor’s run. 19:0 after 5 minutes!

UNICS answered with a 9:0 run, but it was not enough to come back in the first half. The Starks – Cook – Hicks trio reserved double-digit lead for the White-blacks. Despite the hosts’ efforts the half ended at 48:35.
Avtodor still controlled the game by the middle of the third period, but it was the time when Kazan started to surprise. With performance of Jordan Theodore and Alex Tyus made a 18:2 run and met the final quarter with a one point lead – 60:59.

Key moment
The decisive quarter didn’t feature huge runs, the teams entered the clutch with equal chances. The game was decided on the last minute. Starks matched Tyus’ free throws, but 20 seconds to the buzzer Jamar Smith made a three-pointer.

Avtodor had time to save the game, but UNICS showed perfect defense denying Starks’ shot and heavily contending Aleksandr Petenev – 86:83. Tatarstan club came back from -20 and started 2020 with a win.

Stat
20 – the largest lead of Avtodor during the game. Kazan’s comeback is the 5th largest in United league history.

Hero
Alex Tyus. Center set his new career high with 27 points and 11 of 15 field goals.

Comment
UNICS first assistant to the head coach Thomas Nikou:
“First of all, happy New Year. We couldn’t start the game right, with proper attitude as it was planned. We needed some time to change things.
We have a new player Jordan Theodore. We worked a lot with him to make him fit into roster. That’s why the team was a bit slower. But the players pulled it off and won this one.”

Avtodor head coach Predrag Krunic:
“As I said, that was amazing game. My team showed good basketball, we’ve been fighting for all 40 minutes against a strong team. It’s always tough in Kazan. We made a couple of unforced errors, and victory was the price. 1-2 nice passes and we could’ve won it. We’ve met experienced team which took advantage of our mistakes.”

Next
UNICS: January 17 at Zielona Gora
Avtodor: January 12 at Tsmoki-Minsk

Photo 04/01/2020 UNICS-Avtodor 86:83