By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Defense, great outside shooting and a stellar second half proved to be enough for Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar in order to triumph against Unicaja Malaga on the road (82-64).
Malcolm Delaney had an amazing game with 21 points and 7 assists, Anthony Randolph added 18 points, while Chris Singleton and Dontaye Draper scored 11 points each. Mindaugas Kuzminskas with 16 points and Edwin Jackson with 11 were the only scorers in double digits for the hosts who couldn’t stop the offensive onslaught of Lokomotiv, or keep up in the offense with the Russians.
The first quarter ended completely balanced as the two teams were tied at 16 with Kuzminskas leading the hosts with 9 points. Unicaja managed to get a 30-23 lead in the second quarter, but the first half ended with a cresendo by Delaney who had scored already 14 points and gave to Loko a 34-32 lead after a 11-2 run. After that, the game was all about Lokomotiv with Unicaja struggling to stay competitive.
Delaney was unstoppable, he reached 21 points and the guests got a 11 points lead (54-43) in the 27th minute. Lokomotiv ended the third period with 14/29 three-point shots and a total of 21/43 field goals for a 60-47 lead, keeping also Unicaja under 38% shooting efficiency.
Nothing changed until the end. Lokomotiv got even a 20 points lead (78-58) proving on the road that it can do damage against anyone, finishing the game with 16/34 three pointers and 14/25 two-point shots.