UNICS Kazan defeated PARMA Perm at home on Sunday, 84-70 (25-12, 21-21, 19-25, 19-12).
Top Scorers
UNICS: Jamar Smith (17 + 6 ast), Anton Ponkrashov (13), Stephane Lasme (12 + 10 reb), Evgeny Kolesnikov (11)
PARMA: Tre’ McLean (15), Codi Miller-McIntyre (13 + 6 ast), Yannick Moreira (10 + 5 reb)
Story
UNICS had five different players score in double figures, easing past PARMA in Kazan, 84-70. Jamar Smith scored a game-high 17 points to go with four rebounds and six assists as 2nd-place Kazan secured its fifth-consecutive win.
PARMA was led by Tre’ McLean’s 15 points and knocked down 10 3-pointers as a team, but poor defensive rebounding and sluggish offense in the 4th quarter prevented the visitors from picking up a win in the Tatar capital.
UNICS opened up a double-digit lead in the opening period thanks to 4-7 shooting from beyond the arc and sticky defense.
The advantage ballooned to 16 early in the 2nd quarter before PARMA was able to shift the momentum and slowly claw back into the contest.
Trailing by 14 late in the 3rd quarter, the visitors closed the period on a 9-2 run to make it a 65-58 game.
But the 4th quarter belonged to the home team. Evgeny Kolesnikov quickly restored Kazan’s double-digit lead with a 3-pointer and the visitors never got closer than seven points, limited to 3-15 shooting and 12 points in the period.
UNICS improves to 11-1 while PARMA drops to 4-9, now tied with Kalev for the final postseason spot.
Stat
70 – PARMA came into the game averaging more than 80 points per game but only scored 70 against Dimitris Priftis’ club.
Quotes
UNICS head coach Dimitris Priftis:
– This was an important game, like any home game in the VTB United League. It’s vital for us to fortify our position in the standings. I’m satisfied that everyone had an impact on the game today. Quino Colom is still recovering from an injury. Other players helped us secure this victory on defense and on offense.
PARMA head coach Nikolajs Mazurs:
– First of all, I want to apologize to the fans from Perm who came to support us today. I think they were disappointed like us. We were flat at the beginning of the 1st quarter and then it was very difficult to recover what we had lost. UNICS showed that it could control the game even in a stressful situation. Kazan has a tough group in the EuroCup. I want to wish them luck in the next stage, while we’ll prepare for our upcoming games, fix our mistakes and get better.
Up Next
UNICS: February 4 home vs. Tsmoki-Minsk
PARMA: March 4 home vs. Kalev
Photos
