Brown’s game-winner secures a dramatic UNICS win over PAO as Hezonja gets booed on his return to Athens / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Panagiotis Moschandreou/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Lorenzo Brown made a decisive basket with 19.7 seconds and secured the fourth win for UNICS Kazan (4-6).

Player of the Game EFF 16 Lorenzo Brown Points 13 Accuracy 5-10 Rebounds 8 Assists 2

The Russian club 74-72 (15-15, 20-21, 19-18, 20-18) beat Panathinaikos OPAP Athens (2-7), which suffered the third loss in a row.

Both teams went neck and neck for the whole game, so the winner was decided at the very end.

Georgios Papagiannis and Isaiah Canaan exchanged buckets, and with 2 minutes left to play, the score was tied again (70-70). Papapetrou missed a jumper and fouled Mario Hezonja on the other end of the court.

The Croatian star converted both free throws and gave UNICS a two-point lead (72-70) with 1:35 remaining.

Jeremy Evans answered with his free throws to tie the score again at 72, but UNICS found an answer once again. Lorenzo Brown missed his first jumper, but he grabbed an offensive rebound, successfully made a basket after the second attempt, and with 19.7 seconds left, the visitors gained a two-point lead (74-72).

Panathinaikos had plenty of time for their final possession, which ended with a chaotic Papapetrou’s shot and the Russian club secured the win.

“We played really good defense the whole game, but anyone can win. In the end, we had a better decision and won because of that,” said Velimir Perasovic.

Brown was a top-performer for UNICS as he finished the game with 13 points (2/6 2PT, 3/4 3PT), 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, and 16 PIR.

“Just a bunch of energy from both teams who were out here playing hard. All of our players played consistently tonight. So we earned it tonight for sure,” the hero of the game noted.

Unfortunately for Mario Hezonja, his return to the OAKA arena was marked with boos from Panathinaikos fans. On his return to Athens, the Croatian star accumulated 9 points (1/2 2PT, 1/5 3PT, 4/6 FT), 4 rebounds, and 8 PIR.

Papagiannis was a clear leader of Panathinaikos as he finished the game with 14 points (7/12 2PT), a career-high 17 rebounds, 3 turnovers, and 24 PIR.

“A lot of things brought the game to that possession. Definitely, we handled stupidly the last possession,” after the admitted Dimitris Priftis.

Panathinaikos: Georgios Papagiannis 14 (7/12 2PT, 17 REB, 24 PIR), Daryl Macon 14, Kendrick Perry 10, Ioannis Papapetrou 10 (2/11 3PT).

UNICS: Isaiah Canaan 15, Andrey Vorontsevich 15, Lorenzo Brown 13 (8 REB), Mario Hezonja 9 (1/5 3PT).

Highlights

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