Beijing avenges Guangdong to snap three-game losing streak
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E-mail Xinhua, November 7, 2021
The Beijing Ducks stunned the Guangdong Southern Tigers 91-67 in the 10th round of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league on Saturday, taking revenge for last season's quarterfinal defeat to the eventual champions in the pair's first clash of the new season.
The victory also snapped Beijing's three-game losing streak.
The match was highly anticipated, as the Guangdong-Beijing rivalry has a storied history in finals and playoffs. Last time they met, the post-Stephon Marbury Beijing suffered a 104-103 defeat in the quarterfinal round of the 2020-21 season, only to be eliminated twice by Guangdong in consecutive playoffs by close margins.
Beijing trailed 8-2 at the start but soon erased the deficit with an 11-3 run. The pair traded scores until Beijing enlarged the gap to 39-29 in the latter phase of the second quarter with five three-pointers, three of which were from Zhu Yanxi. Fan Ziming scored 12 first-half points on 5-of-7 shooting, and Beijing led 46-33 into the break.
The third quarter saw Beijing lead by as many as 26 points, and hold off a 15-3 run engineered by Guangdong's full-court press and fast breaks. The Ducks led 71-52 into the final quarter, in which Guangdong failed to fuel another turnaround.
Beijing led 52-25 in rebounds, 30-15 in assists, and 11-4 in three-pointers. Fan finished with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Chinese international Yi Jianlian led Guangdong in points (12) in his 19-minute court time, the longest since the 34-year-old's return from injury.
The Zhejiang Golden Bulls cruised to their seventh straight win after thrashing the Jiangsu Dragons 112-76, and last season's runners-up the Liaoning Flying Leopards moved past the Jilin Northeast Tigers 117-89, extending their winning streak to six games.
Elsewhere, the Shandong Heroes lost to the Shanxi Loongs 114-107.
The remaining six games of the 10th round will take place on Sunday. The Zhejiang Lions will take on the winless Ningbo Rockets, and Stephon Marbury's Beijing Royal Fighters will seek back-to-back wins against the Xinjiang Flying Tigers.
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