Langford's big 4th quarter lifts Unics past Efes

Unics Kazan rallied from a 15-point deficit in the second half to edge Anadolu Efes Istanbul 67-64 at home on Thursday. Unics improved to 2-4 and boosted its chances to reach the Top 16, while Efes dropped to 2-4. Keith Langford scored 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter to lead Unics's comeback. D'or Fischer added 16 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks, while Kostas Kaimakoglou netted 10 points for Unics. Dario Saric led Efes with 13 points and 9 rebounds. Dogus Balbay added 11 points and Matt Janning had 10 for the guests. An outstanding Balbay and a three-pointer by Milko Bjelica allowed Efes to get a 14-18 edge after 10 minutes. Kaimakoglou and Langford brought Unics within 20-22, but Cedi Osman and Dontaye Draper fueled a 0-7 run that gave Efes a 28-34 margin at halftime. A 0-9 run that Saric capped with a reverse layup gave Efes its biggest lead, 28-43, right after the break. Efes still led 43-53 after three quarters, but a 15-2 run put Unics ahead, 58-55. Saric managed to put Efes back in front, 60-62, but Langford hit 7 of 8 free throws in the final two minutes – including 4 in the final 5.8 seconds – to lead Unics to a critical home win.