By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The final score was 81-77 as Real Madrid improved its EuroLeague regular season record to 17 – 5 and remained at the first place of the standings by beating Unics Kazan 81 – 77 on the road.
This was the eighth consecutive win for the “Blancos” while Unics suffered its fourth loss in a row, falling to a 7 – 15 record and, more or less, watching their playoffs chances being greatly diminished.
Anthony Randolph paced Real Madrid in scoring with 19 points, while Othello Hunter added 14 and Gustavo Ayon 12, 10 of them in the first quarter. The Mexican big guy also had 5 rebounds.
For Unics, Keith Langford dropped 20 points, Artsiom Parakhouski 12 while Quino Colom flirted with the double-double, posting 11 points and 9 assists.
The game didn’t begin really well for the guests that fell behind 12 – 4 in the first five minutes. Doncic’s entrance greatly enhanced their offense and they managed to finish the first half ahead 81 – 77.
Things took a different turn after the break when EuroLeague top scorer Keith Langford grabbed his weapon to hand his team a 59 – 57 lead before the fourth period.
The two teams remained quite close until the mid of the final period. With the score 70 – 72 and 4:31 to go, Doncic’s passing and Randolph’s scoring helped Real Madrid have a 0 – 7 run that gave their team a safe advantage that led them through the remainder of the game.