UNICS defeated Zenit in the Game of the Week on the road- 79:76 (25:24, 22:15, 21:17, 11:20).
Game progress
The highlight of the first half was a thrilling duel between Dwayne Bacon and Jalen Reynolds: the St. Petersburg team player scored 18 points before the halftime, while UNICS forward scored 22! At the start of the game, the teams played equal, but in the second quarter UNICS began to gradually take the initiative. The trio of Reynolds – Ismael Bako – DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell put together a powerful 13-0 run to take a double-digit lead. At the end of the first half, Bacon and Andrey Vorontsevich were able to bring Zenit back into the game, but the difference between the teams was still impressive – 47:39.
The third quarter started well for the hosts. Bacon continued to score steadily, and when Trent Frazier got involved, Zenit managed to equalize – 56:56. But 2 minutes before the end of the quarter, Zenit missed UNICS 11 points and regained a double-digit lead.
Key moment
In the fourth quarter, UNICS tried to slow down the pace. Still, Zenit was very close to at least taking the game into overtime. Akoon-Purcell seemed to put the end to the game – 79:73. However, Omari Spellman scored a quick three-pointer, and then Reynolds, who played a flawless game, made a turnover. Zenit players tried to score three-pointers, and twice made offensive rebounds, but the hosts ran out of time.
UNICS took revenge for their home loss in the first round and gets closer to Zenit in the standings.
X-factor
The Kazan team had poor three-point shooting (only 3 of 18), but made up the win with field-goals (29 of 44 shots – 65.9%).
Facts
For the first time this season, UNICS beat the Top-4 team. Before that, the Kazan team lost 5 games against Loko, CSKA and Zenit. Velimir Perasovic team managed to break Zenit 12-game winning streak.
Dwayne Bacon had second best scoring game in the League after Jeremiah Martin’s 36 points. And also set career-high 33 points in the VTB League
Leaders
Zenit: Dwayne Bacon (33 + 8 rebounds), Trent Frazier (17 + 9 assists), Omari Spellman (12), Alex Poythress (5 + 5 rebounds), Vince Hunter (3 + 6 rebounds).
UNICS: DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell (26 + 5 rebounds), Jalen Reynolds (24 + 10 rebounds), Sergey Toropov (5 + 5 steals).
What’s next
Zenit: December 22 at home against Uralmash.
UNICS: December 21 on the road versus MBA-MAI.
