Week In Review: Markovic Hits Halfcourt Buzzer-Beater, UNICS Mounts Record Comeback, Kalev Misses Playoffs

Week In Review: Markovic Hits Halfcourt Buzzer-Beater, UNICS Mounts Record Comeback, Kalev Misses Playoffs

Wild finish in Minsk: Markovic beats the buzzer

Khimki traveled to Minsk without several starters, including leader Alexey Shved. Georgios Bartzokas promised that his team would try “new combinations.” They worked. Khimki shot 50% from beyond the arc (13-26) and had a three-point lead, 79-76, after Andrey Zubkov drove the lane for two points with 14 seconds remaining. What followed was the most dramatic finish to a game yet this season. 

After Tsmoki evened the score, Khimki was out of timeouts, but that didn’t bother Stefan Markovic, who knocked down one of the biggest shots of the season. Bravo!

UNICS overcomes 19-point deficit to Astana

UNICS came back from a 15-point hole vs. Avtodor a week earlier. Against Astana, UNICS did another 180 in the second half, overturning a 19-point deficit, the biggest comeback in the League this season. The White-Greens are unlikely to bump CSKA from 1st place, but the team’s resilience and never-quit attitude could go a long way in the playoffs. Astana, on the other hand, suffered its 5th-consecutive loss and has little hope of reaching the postseason.

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Avtodor picks up biggest win of the season

Tsmoki-Minsk gambled on trying to run with Avtodor. The Belarusians only lasted two quarters. Saratov continued to knock down triples in the second half (10-16 on the game), scoring more than 100 points for the second time this season to secure its biggest margin of victory, 104-82 (+22). Branden Frazier scored a career-high 25 points in the League, while Coty Clarke contributed 24. Avtodor is now virtually guaranteed to make the postseason. 

Enisey’s comeback, Nizhny’s false start

“My team came out unfocused today. I reminded the players all week that our opponent would be loose, relaxed and playing without pressure. While we were processing that, the outcome of the game was decided in the 1st quarter. Because of this loss, we’ve essentially lost our chance of making the playoffs.”

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Nizhny Novgorod blew the 1st quarter vs. Enisey, shooting 3-18 from the field to fall behind 26-13. In the end, they never recovered. Dmitry Uzinsky’s career-high 16 points in the League didn’t help, either. As for Zoran Lukic’s pessimism over his team’s postseason odds, Nizhny is currently in 7th place, but faces a four-team gauntlet down the stretch: Zenit, UNICS, Avtodor and Loko. 

Krasnoyarsk defeated Nizhny Novgorod for the second time this season (98-90 in the first meeting) and could squeak into the playoffs after recording back-to-back wins. Finally out of the League cellar, Enisey now enters a crucial three-game homestand, where it faces UNICS, Zenit and Tsmoki-Minsk. 

Kalev eliminated from postseason contention

Kalev played twice this week as a heavy underdog, taking on CSKA and Zenit. In both instances, Kalev looked terrific in the first half and even led entering the 4th quarter vs. St. Petersburg. The Blue-White-Sky Blues, who desperately want to hang onto the #3 seed, were bailed out by teamwork (28 field goals, 28 assists) and star performances. Drew Gordon (15 + 17) and Sergey Karasev (22 + 11) both posted double-doubles. Karasev even added six assists, becoming the second player in League history with a similar stat line. Jerry Jefferson was the first, putting up 29 points, 15 rebounds and six assists in 2016. 

Despite inspired performances against two of the League’s top clubs, while battling injuries, Kalev finishes the week in last place and becomes the first team to be eliminated from postseason contention. Zenit, meanwhile, remains in 3rd.