By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
In their first meeting since the 2016-17 season and third overall in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, UNICS Kazan turned the tables for their first-ever victory against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv with 85-74 on the road in Round 14.
Mario Hezonja was benched after picking up three fouls quickly into the game, but his return in the fourth quarter made a huge difference for UNICS. The Croatian scored back-to-back threes to put his team up by four points at the beginning of the period, leading their 11-1 run and finishing the game with 12 points.
Lorenzo Brown posted a 26-point performance to lead all scorers of the game with a few decisive plays of his own, to go along with 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
“Heart [gave us this win]. We have a great team and a lot of hard work has been made” he said after the victory. “We are working every single day and I just have to applaud my teammates, these are hard-working guys and I love it.”
Isaiah Canaan dropped 18 and O.J. Mayo followed with 11 points.
“First of all, winning in Tel Aviv is always difficult because playing here is not easy” commented coach Velimir Perasovic. “I think this year Maccabi has a good team and they are serious candidates to play in the playoffs, which is the goal of every team in the competition. The game was very difficult for us. We brought the game in the last quarter, when they played really good defense”
Scottie Wilbekin led the efforts of the home team with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, James Nunnally tapped 12 points, Ante Zizic had 11 and Jalen Reynolds contributed 10.
With this win, UNICS overtakes Maccabi with an 8-6 record for the seventh position of the EuroLeague standings. Maccabi slipped its fourth straight game to fall to a 7-7 record.
Photo: EuroLeague