In a battle between the only undefeated teams left in the Russian League, a fourth-quarter blast made CSKA a solid winner 78-69 over visiting Unics Kazan in Moscow on Sunday night.
CSKA vs UNICS Kazan: 78-69
A 13-1 run to start the final quarter settled the matter, upping CSKA’s record to 8-0 while Unics dropped to 5-1. J.R. Holden led the winners with 22 points, half of which he scored to start the game. Marcus Brown added 17 points and Mirsad Turkcan 10 for the winners. Saulius Stombergas paced Unics with 15 points.
Both teams had a slow start of the game, except for Holden, who singlehandedly gave CSKA an 11-6 lead after 5 minutes. Brown took over in the final minutes of the opening quarter, and at the end of it, CSKA had already opened a 12-point lead, 28-16, with Holden and Brown combining for 19 points. Sergei Monya and Dragan Tarlac powered CSKA off the bench, soon making it a 15-point game, but Unics cut the local lead to nine, 44-35, at halftime. The guests extended their rally early in the third with a 0-6 run that took them back into the game, 44-41. Turkcan and Holden helped CSKA to keep a slim one-point lead, 59-58, entering the fourth quarter. Then, CSKA finished the matter quickly, opening the final quarter with a 13-1 run to lead 72-59 with less than 4 minutes to go, by which time Unics could only make the score look better.
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