UNICS beat Samara on the road – 118:64 (28:25, 31:18, 29:10, 30:11).
Game progress
Mikhail Belenitskii 6 points allowed UNICS to take the lead at the start of the game. But the hosts switched to traditional three-point mode and got the initiative. Ilya Platonov helped to take the lead for the first time in the game – 20:18.
The Kazan team responded with good defense. Aggressive full-court pressure forced Samara to make a lot of turnovers. UNICS regained the lead and began to rapidly increase it. In the middle of the second quarter, the difference became double-digit – 45:33, and the difference was already 16 points by halftime – 59:43.
The Kazan team continued to increase the lead in the second half. After Marcos Knight and DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell made shots at the end of the third quarter, UNICS’ lead reached 31 points – 79:48. In the remaining time, Velimir Perasovic team didn’t relax and got confident win.
X-factor
The Kazan team was better in offensive rebounding (18-4) and made less turnovers (9-27). The guests got 32 second chance points, which was one of the key factors in their success.
Facts
UNICS scored season-high 118 points in this game.
After today’s loss, Samara lost even a theoretical chance of getting into the Top 6.
Leaders
Samara: Egor Amosov (13), Bogdan Shuvakin (10).
UNICS: Marcos Knight (25), DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell (21), Jalen Reynolds (18 + 7 rebounds + 6 assists), Mikhail Belenitskii (18 + 6 rebounds), Andrey Lopatin (13 + 6 assists).
What’s next
Samara: March 23 on the road versus Pari Nizhny Novgorod
UNICS: March 19 on the road against Uralmash.
