Russian upset: Hezonja's UNICS blow away CSKA in Moscow / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Mikhail Serbin / Contributor Credit Mikhail Serbin / Contributor

In a derby between two Russian teams,UNICS Kazan (9-6) mounted an upset against CSKA Moscow (9-6), ending their four-game winning streak88-67 (27-21, 7-19, 26-23, 16-16).

Player of the Game EFF 26 Mario Hezonja Points 18 Accuracy 8-14 Rebounds 10 Assists 3

The teams went back and forth to start the game, with CSKA holding a narrow lead after the second 3-point by Alexey Shved (17-13). Former CSKA player Andrey Vorontsevich caught fire scoring eight quick points at the end of the first quarter to give UNICS a 27-21 edge.

CSKA's struggles continued in the second - they only managed to score for the first time in the quarter with 6:17 remaining on the clock. Iffe Lundgerg's 3-pointer ended a 14-0 run by UNICS (24-33) but UNICS didn't get discouraged and kept punishing CSKA. They ended the half with four points to gain their largest lead (46-28).

The home fans of CSKA hoped their team would mount a comeback in the second half. However, things continued going South for the Red Army. Isaiah Canaan's shot increased UNICS' lead to new heights (67-38) but CSKA finished the period with a run to cut their deficit to 21 (51-72).

Despite their best efforts, CSKA only managed to come within 19 at one point in the quarter (53-72). UNICS ended up with a 21-point victory and second straight EuroLeague win.

"In the second quarter we started to play really tough defense, and after that, we had steals so we could run and scored easy shots in transition," UNICS coach Velimir Perasovic said. "In the second quarter we broke the game, and in the third quarter we still played good, but the key was the second quarter really playing good defense."

UNICS were on fire from deep tonight, converting 15 of 25 3-pointers (60%). They tied their EuroLeague record for most threes made in a game. UNICS also dished out 22 assists, against CSKA's 12.

Mario Hezonja led UNICS with 18 points (6/8 2PT, 2/6 3PT), 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, and 26 PIR.

"We fought," Hezonja said post-game. "We know how good they are, but we’re also very good. They’re extremely physical, an extremely good team, but we did that and got the victory so I’m happy about that. We came ready, we sustained their effort to come back in the second. And the third I think is always the most important quarter in any game."

UNICS: Mario Hezonja 18 (10 REB), Isaiah Canaan 16, O.J. Mayo 14 (4/5 3PT), Lorenzo Brown 10 (8 AST), John Brown 10, Andrey Vorontsevich 8.

CSKA: Tornike Shengelia 20 (6 REB), Alexey Shved 13, Iffe Lundberg 12, Will Clyburn 7 (6 REB), Nikola Milutinov 6 (6 REB).

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