UNICS beat Avtodor on the road– 74:58 (21:15, 22:17, 18:8, 13:18).
Game progress
The hosts opened the scoring, but by the middle of the first quarter, UNICS was already ahead with Alexey Shved and Dmitry Kulagin help. Jalen Reynolds and Dyshawn Pierre came off the bench to add another 9 points and allowed the guests to pull away from Avtodor by 6 points at end of the quarter.
In the second quarter, Reynolds continued his streak (scoring his first 10 points without a single miss, 4 of 4), and his next shot gave his team a double-digit lead for the first time – 28:17. Malik Newman was the first Avtodor player to reach double digits, bringing his team back into the game for a while with 2 consecutive three-pointers.
After the halftime, UNICS increased its lead. In the third quarter, 6 guests players scored points (compared to only 2 for Avtodor), and the difference reached 20 points.
In the final minutes, the Volga team gave the rotation some playing time, and UNICS played the fourth quarter in energy-saving mode, but managed to make the necessary difference – to return to the top of the standings, the Kazan team needed to win by at least 9 points.
X-factor
Avtodor roster difficulties are clearly reflected in the numbers. Reynolds came off the bench and scored more than all of the Saratov team bench players combined. UNICS had the advantage in general (24:12).
Facts
Avtodor extended its longest losing streak in history to 11 games.
The rivalry history score in 29-2, UNICS leads. The last time Avtodor beat the Kazan team was more than 4 years ago, in October 2021.
Avtodor was missing 3 players who started the season in the starting lineup. The injured Dusan Beslac will not return until the end of January, Alex Hamilton has left the Saratov team, and Terrence Edwards did not return to the team after the break.
Leaders
Avtodor: Alen Hadzibegovic (14 + 7 rebounds + 4 assists), Malik Newman (13), Aleksandr Evseev (11 + 5 rebounds)
UNICS: Marcus Bingham (17 + 5 rebounds + 4 steals), Jalen Reynolds (15 + 7 rebounds), Dmitry Kulagin (14)
What’s next
Avtodor: December 10 on the road versus MBA-MAI
UNICS: December 12 at home against Pari NN.
