LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (6-2) extended their winning streak at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague to three by taking care of UNICS Kazan (3-5) at home 85-82 (21-24, 18-12, 26-21, 20-25).
| Player of the Game | |
|
EFF
27
|
| Chris Jones | |
| Points | 25 |
| Accuracy | 9-14 |
| Rebounds | 3 |
| Assists | 3 |
Mario Hezonja and Tonye Jekiri cut UNICS' deficit to three with less than four minutes left in the game (68-71). But Elie Okobo answered, nailing a floater and putting ASVEL up by seven (77-70).
Isaiah Canaan responded with a 3-pointer, Hezonja added two more, and UNCIS' lead was down to two (79-81). But David Lighty converted two free throws, UNICS missed three consecutive 3-pointers, and ASVEL delivered a three-point victory.
Chris Jones was incredible for ASVEL, ending with 25 points (8/10 2PT, 1/4 3PT, 6/7 FT), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers, and 27 PIR.
"We believe in ourselves," Jones said post-game. "People may doubt us, but we have a good group of guys out here. We got the stops that we needed. I have great confidence from my coach, my teammates. I have great players around me and they make it kind of easy on me. Winning is my main concern and the guys did a great job tonight."
Mario Hezonja led UNICS with 27 points (10/12 2PT, 2/7 3PT, 1/1 FT), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover, and 29 PIR.
ASVEL tipped the game off with an 8-0 run, but UNICS retaliated, gaining a three-point lead after Lorenzo Brown's shot (19-16).
O.J. Mayo helped the visitors increase their advantage to five (28-23). However, ASVEL ended the half with a 12-4 run and were up by three going into the break (39-36).
Seven straight points by Elie Okobo gave ASVEL a double-digit advantage in the third (59-49) as the hosts went into the fourth quarter with an eight-point lead (65-57).
"We couldn't stop them on offense at the end of the game," UNICS coach Perasovic said. "They scored too easily in the second half. We always tried, but we didn't have a real opportunity. When we got to 2 points, they made free throws and it is really difficult to win here if you can't stop them in one-on-one situations."
ASVEL: Chris Jones 25, David Lighty 19, Elie Okobo 17 (6 REB), James Gist 6, Charles Kahudi 5.
UNICS: Mario Hezonja 27 (6 REB), Lorenzo Brown 12 (6 REB, 7 AST), Tonye Jekiri 12 (6 REB), Isaiah Canaan 10, John Brown 9 (5 REB).
