Moral-boosted Bayi turns table around to take 2-1 lead
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NINGBO, East China - Bayi Fubang staged one of the most typical turn-around game in the 88-83 home win over Guangdong Hongyuan from 20-point deficit at Game 3 of the finals of the Chinese Basketball Association league (CBA) Thursday night.
The military team led the best-of-seven-series by 2-1 with the Game 4 to be played at home on Saturday. Point guard Wang Zhongguang took the scoring burden from injured captain Li Nan to chip in 15 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 1:20 minutes to go that took the match for the home team's favor. . Trailing all the way into the fourth quarter with seven points behind, Bayi gained the first lead of the game on Wang's 12-foot jumper and captured the driving seat when Wang buried another three-pointer with 44.9 seconds left on 85-83. A costly turnover of Dixon Jason with 19 seconds to go left Guangdong no way out but committed fouls for the last hope, but Chen Ke buried four free-throws to seal the victory. Wang Zhizhi, who was not in shape during the first quarter, had the game-high 27 points and 12 rebounds when Bayi beat Guangdong on the board by 34-30, the first time in the series. Wang Zhongguang added 15 points and seven assists while veteran Zhang Jinsong scored 15 points. Yi Jianlian and Wang Shipeng scored 20 points apiece for Guangdong, who is seeking for the four consecutive championships. The visiting team had a perfect start and led as many as 19 points in the first half in the hope for regaining the home advantage, while Bayi failed to find the scoring power with most points from three-pointers and free throws during the frist quarter. Bayi clawed back in a slow pace as it was down 11 points before the break, 54-43, and seven points after three quarters, 66-59, before Wang Zhizhi leveled it on 81-81 with 3:13 minutes left of the game |
