Unics Kazan – Barcelona 70-64: John Brown swallows the Blaugrana

John and Lorenzo Brown were the “A” and “O” for Unics Kazan, which – after three Corona-related postponements – returned stronger to the EuroLeague. Velimir Perasovic ομάδα’s team put on a great defensive performance, taking advantage of the absence of Nikola Mirotic (coronavirus) and beating Barcelona (70-64) at home in the match for the 22nd game of the EuroLeague.

The first swallowed the opponent up (or even small when he came out in the switches) with the 7 steals he had. He also filled his stats with 20 points and 4 rebounds. Lorenzo Brown, who finished with 22 points and 8 assists, is also close. Double doubles by Mario Hezonia with 11 points and 11 rebounds (but also 7 errors).

On the other hand, Cory Higgins’ 17 points and Nick Kalathis’ return (0/5 shots, 4 rebounds, 5 assists) in the rotation didn’t prove enough to rewrite history.

The race

Unic’s Kazan was impressive in the first ten minutes and largely hid the basket. John Brown was again the one who made the difference in defense (he had 3 steals in the period), but he proved just as effective in attack (11 points in 10 minutes). The hosts’ +3 (17:14) in the 10th minute was basically his own doing, which was confirmed when he went to the bench to take a few breaths.

Seizing the opportunity, Barcelona pressed the accelerator and brought the situation to a halt with ten unanswered points in two and a half minutes (17:24 in 13′). Despite the activation of Lorenzo Brown and the efforts of Mario Hezonia, the Russian team did not react to the substance (even 0/6 threes before the break). The Blaugrana remained in the lead until the break (31:35), with their percentages improving significantly –had 5/8 two points, 3/7 three points and 2/2 shots in the second third.

In the third ten minutes, the scene of the first was repeated. Unics Kazan hid the basket in Barcelona, ​​​​with the result that Spain’s percentages plummeted. After the guests remained without a point for about five minutes, Velimir Perasovic’s team somehow found a way to convert -6 (35:41) to +6 (47:41) in the 28th minute.

But now, the missed rim shots became a serious problem for Barcelona. To the extent that Unics Kazan extended their lead and reached +10 (66-56) in the last three minutes.

Corey Higgins and Kyle Kuric made a step forward for Saronas Jasikevicius’ team, but the substance remained the same. Contrary to what happened at the Palau Blaugrana about a month ago, this time Unics Kazan stayed ahead until the final, clinching the win and forcing Barcelona to their third loss in four games.

THE REFEREES: Lotermozer – Koromilas – Bisang.

THE TEN MINUTES: 17-14, 31-35, 54-48, 70-64.

UNIKS KAZAN (Perasovic): Spisu, Brown J. 20 (8/14 two points, 4/7 shots, 4 rebounds, 7 steals), Canan 6 (1/4 three points, 3 errors), Brown L. 22 (8/10 two points, 1/3 three points, 3/4 shots, 3 rebounds, 8 assists), Bradley, Zaichev, Hezonia 11 (2/6 two points, 1/4 three points, 4/4 shots, 11 rebounds, 7 errors ), Jekiri 5 (3 rebounds), Vorontsevich 6 (1 three points, 5 rebounds).

BARCELONA (Jasikevicius): Davis 16 (5/11 two points, 1/1 three points, 3/4 shots, 4 rebounds), Exum, Sunley 2, Martinez (0/4 shots), Smith 6 (6 rebounds), Hayes 5 (1/6 shots, 3/3 shots), Laprovitola 8 (2), Higgins 17 (4/7 two points, 2/5 three points, 3/3 shots), Kuric 6 (2), Yokoubaitis 2, Natzi 2 , Kalathis (0/3 two points, 0/2 three points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 error).

Group statistics – Unics Kazan: 20/34 two points, 4/14 three points, 18/23 shots, 30 rebounds (25 defensive + 5 offensive), 17 assists, 10 steals, 18 errors, 4 blocks.

Team Stats – Barcelona: 16/39 two points, 7/22 three points, 11/12 shots, 26 rebounds (18 defensive + 8 offensive), 10 assists, 7 steals, 15 errors, 1 block.

The next commitments of the teams: Due to the postponements of the previous days, Unics Kazan is facing a hell of a week, because they play against Real Madrid (25.1., away) and CSKA Moscow (28.1., inside). Barcelona, ​​for their part, will return to Palau Blaugrana to host Villeurbanne (27/1).