BarcelonaThree days before the classic against Madrid, Barça lost to Unics Kazan (70-64). The Russian team’s defense slowed down the pace of a Barça team that did not have its usual offensive records. The Euroleague runner-up was only able to hand out 10 assists.
Sarunas Jasikevicius recovered Nick Calathes, but Nikola Mirotic was sent off. The Lithuanian coach kept the Greco-American base for a long time on the pitch to speed up his return to the rhythm of the Barça team’s game. The best of the Catalan team were Cory Higgins, who scored 17 points, and Brandon Davies, who reached 16. “They have been more physical than us, we have made too many mistakes,” said Saras.
Unics Kazan started the game with a lot of activity and energy. Eager to take advantage of the leader’s visit to reaffirm his good career, the Russian team dominated the first minutes (13-8). It took Barça a while to get their hands on the pan and used two triples from Cory Higgins to score a 0-10 run and take the lead on the scoreboard (17-24). Unsuccessful from the three-point line (0/6), the locals suffered to maintain the offensive pace of a rival who scored 21 points during the second period (31-35).
When they dominated the stage by six points (35-41), Barça had their worst moment of the afternoon. The Barça team received a 0-12 run for five minutes in which they were unable to score (47-41). The Catalan team did not find solutions to decipher the awkward defense of the Russian rival, a network led by John Brown, the player that every coach would like to have. The winger added 20 points and 7 rebounds, a record for the season.
The local difference grew during a last quarter in which Barça had no arguments to fight for victory against a rival that already deserved the victory at the Palau Blaugrana. The Catalan team tried to come back with pride, but Lorenzo Brown (22 points) was very successful in dispelling any surprise options. “During the second half we made an excellent defense and we got easier shots. The credit for the victory is collective,” said Velicans Perasovic, coach of Unics Kazan.
No signal
The Catalan fans could not watch the last minute of the match live due to a technical error that left DAZN without a television signal. EuroLeague TV, on the other hand, was able to broadcast the final stretch.
