In the CBA, the Guangdong Southern Tigers visited the Guangzhou Long-Lions on Sunday. Yi Jianlian and his teammates were looking to keep their momentum from 13 straight wins going while Guangzhou were eager to go back to winning ways after a 3-game losing streak.
Guangdong boasts hottest form in the league recently. But it's the hosts took an upper hand early on. D. J. Kennedy drives in for an lay up and Long-Lions up by 3.
Jump to the 2nd Q, when Guangdong coach Du Feng took the center stage 3 minutes into the frame. The manager is obviously unhappy about the referees' judgement.
Half a minute later, Du failed to control his temper and argued with the referees, and he was ejected as a result.
The Southern Tigers had to deal with the rest of the game without their head coach.
The absence of Du, however, did not affect the eight-time champions. Samad Bahrami's ball was intercepted, and Donald Sloan would set up Carlos Boozer for a lay-up. Guangdong took a 9-point lead after the first half.
Midway through the 3rd Q, Bahrami misses the triple and Guangdong's counter attack decimated the hosts. Yi nets two with a turn-around lay-up. The big man got a night-high 28 points, and 10 rebounds.
2 minutes into the final quarter, Bahrami conceded another turn-over and Guangdong would finish with a throwdown from Yi. 101-80 was the final score and the Southern Tigers pocketed their 14th straight win of the season.
Marbury manages 26 points, 10 assists in Ducks' victory
Also on Sunday, Beijing Ducks suffered a serious blow 7 minutes into the game at Sichuan Bluewhales. Zhai Xiaochuan injuried his anckle and had to exit the game. The Chinese international boasted great form recently and had gotten 38 points in the last game against Fujian, a new personal record. The forward will have a thorough check back in Beijing.
1.5 half minutes from then end of the 1st Q, Sun Yue fires from distance and Beijing now take a 2-point lead.
Beijing continued to attack from outside in the 2nd. Zhang nails another triple. And Stephon Marbury connects with Zhu Yanxi for another three.
Sichuan meanwhile, would claw back in the paint. Liu Wei sets up Hamed Haddadi for the duck. The Iranian center got a night high 35 points, make 14 out of 20 attempts.
One minute later, Haddadi was back again with a throw down and cut the deficit to 1.
Marbury, meanwhile, drives in for the lay-up. The veteran provided 26 points and 10 assists on the night.
Sichuan, meanwhile, peformed pooly on the free throw line. The hosts missed 12 of their 22 attempts.
With 28 seconds remaining, Haddadi would add 2 off the glass and Sichuan down by 2.
Marbury then made one of his two free throws and Beijing took a 3 point lead.
Blue Whales got a chance to take the game to over time but Meng Da misses the triple. Beijing would wrap up the victory 105-101.
In other games on Sunday, Shanxi beat Bayi on the road. Qingdao dumped Shandong by 22 points. Xinjiang defeat Tianjin in a physical game in which Xiralijan Muhtar with the Flying Tigers and Zhang Ji with the hosts were ejected for elbowing their opponents. Jiangsu outclassed Shenzhen.
Elsewhere, Tongxi beat Jilin. Beikong failed to keep their momentum of beating leaders Shanghai last round and were beaten by Fujian. The Sturgeons, meanwhile, snapped their 13 game losing streak. National team center Wang Zhelin managed 33 points and 16 rebounds for Fujian. Liaoning were edged by Zhejiang. While Shanghai thrashed Guangsha and still top the table with 17 wins and 2 losses.
