UNICS downed Nizhny Novgorod on the road – 95:83 (20:17, 27:22, 33:24, 15:20)
Top scorers
Nizhny Novgorod: Evgenii Baburin (17), Pavel Antipov (15), Terrel Parks (12 + 7 rebounds).
UNICS: Errick McCollum (23), Jordan Theodore (21 + 6 assists), Jamar Smith (14).
Story
Last week, Nizhny Novgorod (7-10) broke Loko’s winning streak and climbed to the 7th place remaining in the fight for the playoffs. UNICS (11-6) were ranked 4th before this game. Three and a half minutes after the tip-off, and the scoreboard showed only 4:2 for NN, but later the teams paced up in the offense. The teams were close in the first quarter as Nizhny denied the guests’ attempts to run away. However, Jordan Theodore’s shot marked an 8:3 run to make it 47:39 for UNICS after 20 minutes of play.
Key moment
In the third quarter, Nizhny and UNICS played offense-driven basketball. Kazan were better in this style as their stars showed their best. Theodore was backed by Raymar Morgan, Errick McCollum and Jamar Smith. After three consecutive three-pointers (two by Theodore), the White-greens reached double-digit lead (61:49) which was later supported by successfull plays on both sides of the court (25:9 run) and 76:58 after the third quarter.
With this big lead, it was no challenge for Tatarstan club to win (95:83) the third game in a row. Nizhny dropped below the playoffs zone and are now ranked 10th.
❌ Джордан Теодор на защите кольца @unicsbasket!
❌ @J__Theo25 protects the rim of UNICS with the BLOCK! pic.twitter.com/aj1bjBtt2Q
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) March 7, 2020
Hero
Jordan Theodore. The point guard was the most noticeable person of UNICS’ offense. Theodor made a great contribution for Kazan’s decisive run and eventually became team’s secon best scorer (21 points). But he didn’t leave his core competencies unattended: 6 assists made.
Stat
70% 2-pointers made by UNICS (only 47% by NN)
Comment
Nizhny Novgorod head coach Zoran Lukic:
“Congrats to the opponent with a fair win. This game proved and 90 minutes are enough for UNICS to prepare between the games, which is not our case. We need time, practice, work on details. It was clear tonight that we are far from the opponents. Plus, as you could see, Ivan Strebkov almost didn’t play tonight due to knee problems. It’s good that we had Parks. I hope, he’ll get back to his level soon. I have to add that 95 points allowed is a disaster!”
UNICS head coach Dimitris Priftis:
“A trip to Nizhny Novgorod is always a dramatic game. Three days ago, Monaco beat us big time in Eurocup, so we have to react to this loss. And we controlled the most part of tonight’s game. I want to thank and congratulate my players. We have injurred guys who had to be replaced, plus we’ve had a long travel from Monaco, so it was a challenge. Anyway, Nizhny had something similar. I think this is an important victory, because as I’ve said many times I respect Nizhny, their coaching staff, and team’s philosophy.”
Next
Nizhny Novgorod: March 16 vs Zenit
UNICS: March 14 at Enisey
Photo
