The Bayi Rockets put themselves into driving seat with a 96-90
away win Sunday over the Beijing Ducks in the game one of the
best-of-five semifinals of the Chinese Basketball Association
league on Sunday.
The Rockets hold two consecutive home games on the Game 2 and 3
next week, and will come back for Game 4 and 5, if necessary.
Without veteran playmaker Zhang Jinsong for almost the whole
fourth quarter, the Rockets forced out 21 turnovers from their
opponents to take the victory.
Center Mo Ke shot 6-out-of-9 from behind the arc to score 24
points for the visitors, including a crucial one to give the
Rockets a 87-82 lead with over four minutes to go.
Veteran shooter Li Nan recovered from the fever to contribute 19
points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals for Bayi.
Beijing's center Mengke Bateer scored 11 of his 26 points in the
first five minutes of the game to put the home team 16-7 ahead, but
received little help after that to finish with 15 rebounds as
well.
Point guard Zhang Yunsong was fruitless in the field and power
forward Jiao Jian was 1-out-of-7 in the field, which got the most
boos from the disappointed local audience.
Guard Xie Libin scored 17 points for Beijing.
On Saturday, last year's champions Guangdong Southern Tigers
overwhelmed the Jiangsu Dragons, 121-86, at home in game one of
their semifinals.
The two teams exchanged leads at the beginning of the match. Two
three-pointers from Wang Shipeng and Zhu Fangyu gave Guangdong the
lead, 36-32, after the first quarter.
Jiangsu's main scorer Tang Zhendong was fouled out in the second
quarter, and the shorthanded team fell 14 points behind Guangdong
before half time.
Guangdong then extended their lead to 91-68 in the third quarter
and wrapped up the victory with a 35-point margin.
Du Feng led Guangdong with a game-high of 32 points and seven
rebounds, while Yi Jianlian and Wang Shipeng each had 27 and 20
respectively.
Carlos Dixon nipped 25 points for Jiangsu, while Zhang Cheng and
Tang Zhengdong added 13 apiece.
Guangdong will visit Jiangsu Tuesday for the second clash of the
semifinals.
(Xinhua News Agency and CRI English April 3, 2006)