UNICS defeated Astana on the road – 84:53 (16:20, 22:10, 20:10, 26:13).
The best scorers
Astana: Anthony Hickey (20), Skylar Spencer (10 + 12 rebounds).
UNICS: Isaiah Canaan (17), Mario Hezonja (15 + 8 rebounds), Marco Spissu (13), Tonye Jekiri (7 + 10 rebounds).
Game progress
Astana (3-8) on Tuesday ended a 7-game losing streak in the game with Lokomotiv Kuban. Anthony Hickey scored 43 points and made a triple-double – an achievement that had previously been made by only six players in the history of the League. UNICS (12-2) also had reasons for joy: the team had a series of 4 wins and a leadership in the standings.
In the 1st quarter, Hickey picked up where he left off in the game against Loko. Anthony got his team 9 points, Astana had the lead and only 3-pointers by Marco Spissu and Isaiah Canaan helped UNICS to reduce the score – 20:16 the hosts lead. If the Kazan team snipers periodically scored, then Astana had problems – only 3 out of 15 3-point shots were made. UNICS outplayed on the rebounds, and with that, Mario Hezonja almost made a double-double by halftime, scoring 10 points and 8 rebounds.
In the 2nd quarter, UNICS turned on their defense, closed Hickey and gradually took control of the game. At some point, Astana offense got up completely. Maxim Marchuk’s shot 4 minutes 15 seconds before the break was the last for the team. Had won the quarter with the score 22:10, UNICS led by 8 points – 38:30.
Hezonja to Komolov to Vorontsevich to Brown to Hezonja…
And @mariohezonja hits 3️⃣
What a @unicsbasket ball movement 😍 pic.twitter.com/dwj6KbWZEb
— VTB League (@VTBUL) February 17, 2022
The key moment
After changing sides, the game has not changed. UNICS continued to dominate in the defense, still tightly closing the perimeter, and also confidently controlled rebounds. The Kazan team lead steadily grew and after 2 consecutive 3-pointers, the team’s lead became 17 points – 55:38.
Having created a decisive reserve in the 3rd quarter, UNICS confidently brought the game to the win, which became the 5th in a row for the team.
Hero
Isaiah Canaan. After spending only 16 minutes on the court, Canaan became the best scoring player of his team – 17 points. The guard made 5 of 8 3-pointers.
Numbers
5 – UNICS currently gets the longest winning streak in the League.
Comments
Darko Russo, Astana Head Coach :
– Congratulations to UNICS on the win. They play very well in defense. UNICS also demonstrates a good team game both in defense and in offense. This is one of the best teams I’ve ever played against. If they play like they did today, there’s not much chance of beating them. At the same time, I understand my players – it was the 3rd game in 6 days. I’m not happy that we lost by 30 points, but after the big break we just didn’t have the energy.
Velimir Perasovic, UNICS Head Coach:
– We started the game very softly and acted hesitantly in offense. But in the second half we started to play better, keep our concentration, move the ball, thanks to which we managed to bring it to a confident win.
What’s next
Astana: home game versus Kalev on March 7.
UNICS: home game against Tsmoki-Minsk on March 6.
