UNICS defeated MBA and got the 5th win in a row — 74:66 (25:22, 14:20, 16:13, 19:11).
Game progress
Before the game, UNICS was on the 2nd place, MBA was on the 4th.
The first quarter was quite resultative. The teams scored mainly from the paint — after drives, second chance points and free-throws. Jalen Reynolds, who received the MVP of December award before the game, closed the first quarter with 7 points in 2 minutes, which helped UNICS to take the lead. But in the second quarter, the pace of the game decreased. This helped the guests and MBA got ahead. The Moscow team max lead was 8 points, but shortly before the end of the first half, UNICS pulled up — 42:39, MBA led.
Key moment
The third quarter became more defensive — in constant attempts to take the lead, the teams preferred not to take risks. By the end of the quarter, the score was equal — 55:55. However, immediately after the start of the final quarter, Louis Labeyrie and Daryl Macon gave a start to UNICS run. 69:59 after Nenad Dmitrijevic drive — the Kazan team lead became double-digit and looked very impressive.
In the last minutes, Vasily Karasev took a timeout twice, trying to change the situation. But MBA did not find an opportunity to crack UNICS defense, scoring only 11 points in the decisive quarter. The Kazan team wins the 5th game in a row and continues to pursuit CSKA.
Key factor
During the season, MBA had 76% from the free-throw line. However in this game, the Moscow team made 12 out of 23. These points were not enough to win in the end.
Fact
UNICS is still invincible at home — the win over MBA became the 10th in 11 games. UNICS lost at home only to CSKA in overtime.
Leaders
UNICS: Daryl Macon (20 + 5 steals), Louis Labeyrie (15 + 7 rebounds), Vince Hunter (13 + 8 rebounds)
MBA: Daniil Kasatkin (17), Makar Konovalov (11)
Next games
UNICS: road game against PARMA-PARI on January 8
MBA: road game versus Enisey on January 10
