TAIYUAN, April 29 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing Ducks fended off the Shanxi Loongs' ferocious fourth-quarter rally to triumph 106-99, taking a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five semifinal series of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) playoffs on Tuesday.
Leading by as many as 19 points early in the final period, Beijing went scoreless in the next five minutes, seeing Shanxi claw back into contention with a 15-0 run. Point guard Chen Ying-chun drained a 3-pointer with 3:30 to play to snap Beijing's scoring drought, and Shanxi never truly threatened afterward.
Chen scored a team-high 23 points, leading five Beijing players in double figures. Lei Meng nailed five 3-pointers for 18 points, and Eugene German contributed 17 points and 15 assists.
"We were not used to their defensive intensity at the start, but as a mature team, we responded well after the timeout," said Beijing coach Xu Limin afterwards. "But the series is not over. We need to be fully prepared for the difficulties ahead and show our mentality back home."
Having suffered a 102-94 loss at home on Sunday, Shanxi displayed determination to bounce back. Chen Pengyudi emerged as a big surprise, making two 3-pointers as the hosts raced into a 14-4 lead, while Beijing responded with an 11-0 surge over the next three and a half minutes. Beijing stayed hot from beyond the arc, drilling five out of 10 shots from distance en route to a 28-24 lead as the first quarter expired.
Chen followed with another 3-pointer to help Shanxi pull within five points midway through the second quarter, but the visitors continued to take command of the game, going 55-45 up on German's 3-pointer with one minute remaining in the second quarter and 55-49 at the interval.
Lei sank two straight 3-pointers to open the second half, and Beijing extended its lead to 16 points, before Shanxi rallied to cut it to seven. Beijing led 83-67 heading into the final frame but then saw small forward Zeng Fanbo take a hard fall while attempting a layup late in the third quarter, forcing him out of the game.
Zhang Ning offered Shanxi a glimmer of hope with eight straight points, but the home side could not mount further pressure, with Lei's late 3-pointer effectively securing Beijing's win.
For Shanxi, Hamidou Diallo posted a double-double of 28 points and 12 rebounds. Zhang scored 18 points, and Brandon Goodwin and Chen chipped in with 13 and 12 points respectively.
"We did well at some stages, especially at the beginning, but due to a lack of experience in the semifinals, we did not execute well in several possessions, including the consistency in defense and resolution in offense and shooting," rued Shanxi coach Pan Jiang.
Beijing is to host Shanxi in Game 3 on Friday. Enditem
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