Beijing Ducks point guard Stephon Marbury. (Photo : Getty Images)
No. 2 seed Xinjiang Flying Tigers defeated no. 7 seed and defending Chinese Basketball Association champions Beijing Ducks, 117-105, in Game 1 of the first round of the 2016 CBA Playoffs held at the Shougang Gymnasium in the capital city of China on Monday.
Former NBA superstar Stephon Marbury's 29 points, five rebounds, and four assists were not enough for the Ducks to pull off a first game upset against the mighty Flying Tigers, who is now up 1-0 in their best-of-five CBA quarterfinals series, as reported by Xinhuanet.
Xinjiang was led by American-Filipino import Andray Blatche with huge stats of 39 points, 16 boards, and five assists together with local player Li Gen, who fired 18 points and grabbed six rebounds.
Four other players from head coach Li Qiuping's side scored in double figures, namely Xiralijan Muhtar (14), Kerambak Makan (14), Zhou Qi (14), and former Phoenix Suns point guard Bryce Cotton (10), who also had five assists in a substitute role in almost 27 minutes of playing time, as per 7M CBA LiveFour other players from head coach Li Qiuping's side scored in double figures, namely Xiralijan Muhtar (14), Kerambak Makan (14), Zhou Qi (14), and former Phoenix Suns point guard Bryce Cotton (10), who also had five assists in a substitute role in almost 27 minutes of playing time, as per 7M CBA Live.
The game was close in the second quarter with the visitors quickly launching to a 7-0 lead in the first three minutes of the opening period.
Beijing was able to bounce back right then in the first quarter to grab a one-point advantage at the end of the opening 12 minutes, 25-24.
However, the Flying Tigers flexed their might in the second quarter, courtesy of hot shooting from beyond the three-point arc by Blatche and Muhtar, to carve out a 35-25 advantage in the period to enter the halftime break leading by nine, 59-50.
Xinjiang continued to dominate head coach Min Lulei's boys in the third canto to extend their lead to 15 points, 87-72.
Blatche continued to dominate in the payoff period, leading the Flying Tigers to as much as a 21-point lead, as Marbury and the Ducks could only get to 12 points of their opponents' advantage.
Beijing's other American import, 6-foot-11 center Randolph Morris, contributed 20 points and eight rebounds to the losing side. The Ducks will try to level the series on Wednesday at the Hongshan Arena in Xinjiang.
