Shved leads CSKA past UNICS
CSKA Moscow returned to winning ways and avenged a recent defeat by downing host UNICS Kazan 75-86 at Basket Hall on Friday. CSKA improved to 13-8 in the standings while UNICS dropped to 12-9. Alexey Shved led the winners with 27 points. Nikola Milutinov added 17 while Will Clyburn had 16 for CSKA. Mario Hezonja and Lorenzo Brown led UNICS with 21 points apiece. Tonye Jekiri added 11 for the guests. Lorenzo Brown stepped up early, getting help from Jekiri to give UNICS a 20-16 lead after 10 minutes. Milutinov and Iffe Lundberg fueled a 0-10 second-quarter run which allowed CSKA to take a 32-37 edge at halftime. Johannes Voigtmann and Shved took over after the break, making it a double-digit game, 40-50. Hezonja and Brown brought UNICS within 66-67 but Shved and an unstoppable Clyburn took over in crunch time to lead CSKA to an important victory.
Shved got CSKA going with a floater and followed Voigtmann's layup with a three-pointer that made UNICS call timeout at 0-7. Brown stepped up with a three-point play, fed Mario Hezonja for a corner triple and hit a turnaround jumper for an 8-8 tie. Shved kept pacing CSKA but Dmitrii Uzinskii struck from downtown to put UNICS in charge, 11-10. Voigtmann and Lorenzo Brown traded baskets, then Nikita Kurbanov scored down low for a 13-14 CSKA edge. Brown hit a mid-range jumper, and got help from Jekiri to boost the hosts' lead to 20-16 after 10 minutes.
Lundberg took over with a driving layup early in the second quarter that O.J. Mayo matched with a mid-range jumper. Milutinov buried a turnaround shot and Daniel Hackett added a three-point play that let CSKA regain a 22-23 lead. Lundberg struck from beyond the arc and Milutinov dunked to cap a 0-10 CSKA run before Uzinskii finished a four-chance UNICS offense with a triple. Milutinov hit a jump hook and Hackett soon boosted the guests' lead to 26-32. Uzinskii dunked and Brown added a jumper at 30-32. Shved answered from downtown and Milutinov scored again while Hezonja kept UNICS within 32-37 at halftime.
Tonye Jekiri ignited the UNICS crowd with an alley-oop slam soon after the break. Shved answered with back-to-back triples and Voigtmann improved upon Brown's layup with a bomb from downtown that made it a double-digit game, 36-46. Jarrell Brantley scored in the paint and Jekiri added a power basket for the hosts, but Voigtmann and Shved kept the guests way ahead, 40-50. Hezonja sank a baseline jumper, Brown struck from downtown and Brantley added a layup and a three-point play to get UNICS as close as 51-54. Clyburn rescued CSKA with 7 quick points and Kurbanov took over with a layup-and-one but Jekiri, Lorenzo Brown and Hezonja kept the hosts within 57-64 after 30 minutes.
Hezonja sent a behind-the-back assist to Brantley early in the fourth quarter and soon scored in penetration to make CSKA call timeout at 61-64. Hezonja kept pacing the hosts with a bomb from beyond the arc but Milutinov kept his team ahead 64-67 with under 6 minutes left. Hezonja hit an off-balance shot that Clyburn matched with a layup. Shved buried a corner triple and Clyburn improved upon Andrey Vorontsevich's a tip-in with his own shot from downtown to break the game open, 68-75, with under 3 minutes remaining. Shved hit a turnaround jumper but Hezonja kept UNICS within 73-78 with 1:11 left. Milutinov took over with a put-back slam off a CSKA timeout that sealed the outcome.
Shved steps up in Kazan
Alexey Shved thrilled CSKA Moscow fans with a solid all-around performance in his team's 75-86 road victory against UNICS Kazan. Shved was a scoring threat throughout the game, leading his team with a season-high 27 points by making 3 of 4 two-pointers, 6 of 10 three-pointers and 3 of 4 free throws. He added 2 rebounds, a steal and 3 fouls drawn for a PIR of 23, his second-best mark this season. Shved previously had a PIR of 25 in a 78-76 home victory against Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade in Round 4. Oddly enough, despite facing UNICS many times in VTB League action, it was Shved's first visit to Kazan in a EuroLeague game, and he led CSKA to its 13th victory.
Focused CSKA wins in Kazan
CSKA Moscow defeated UNICS Kazan 75-86 on the road in Round 23 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season. Even when stats were very balanced in most categories, CSKA showed better focus, proving more accurate than UNICS and making fewer mistakes to cruise to an important victory. CSKA hit 10 of 27 three-pointers (37.0%) and managed to limit UNICS to just 6-for-10 shooting from downtown (30.0%). The guests picked up just 8 turnovers, one shy of their season low, and made UNICS cough up as many as 13. CSKA was also more accurate from the foul line, hitting 22 of 27 free throws (81.5%) to UNICS's 9 of 12 (75.0%).
Lorenzo Brown shines against CSKA, again
UNICS Kazan registered a 75-86 home loss against CSKA Moscow but its floor general had yet another extraordinary performance. Lorenzo Brown had a really solid display for UNICS, finishing the game with 21 points on 7-for-13 two-point, 1-for-3 three-pointers and 4-for-5 free throws shooting. He added 3 rebounds, 9 assists – barely missing his first EuroLeague double-double – a block and 6 fouls drawn for a PIR of 26. Brown already had a good performance against CSKA in Round 15, getting 10 points and 8 assists in a 67-88 victory.
Friday, January 28, 2022
Euroleague.net