Zenit defeated UNICS in the last regular season game at home – 83:78 (18-22, 23-19, 22-14, 20-23).
Game progress
Zenit (22-9) and UNICS (24-7) were 3rd and 2nd in the Group A. The final regular season game had no impact on the standings.
The first half was equal. Adrien Moerman and Artem Klimenko helped coming from the bench, while Vince Hunter and Louis Labeyrie led UNICS. The Kazan team had rebounding advantage, but was worse in assists. Th first half ended win the equal score – 41:41.
Tomas Heurtel stepped up in the third quarte and the hosts took an 8-point lead.
Key moment
UNICS was close to a comeback, when Jalen Reynolds made a beautiful reverse dunk and then Nenad Dimitrijevic scored 2 free-throws. Zenit reacted quickly, Klimenko and Caleb Homesley made their shots 26 seconds before the end and took the win.
Fact
During the final days of the regular season, UNICS made some serious upgrades. Marcos Knight and Ivan Lazarev moved from Samara to Velimir Perasovic team. The American was one of Samara leaders averaging 16.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals. He was noticeable tonight as well: 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 steals in 26 minutes.
Key factor
Artem Klimenko. The ex-UNICS player had one of his best games of the season: 15 points (a season-high) and 7 rebounds, with 5 of 6 from the game.
Leaders
Zenit: Artem Klimenko (15 + 7 rebounds), Caleb Homesley (14), Thomas Heurtel (12 + 7 assists), Trent Frazier (10)
UNICS: Jalen Reynolds (19 + 8 rebounds), Nenad Dimitrijevic (14), Vince Hunter (12), Louis Labeyrie (11 + 5 rebounds).
