Stephon Marbury (Photo : REUTERS)
Stephon Marbury had 36 points as the Beijing Ducks edged the Liaoning Flying Leopards, 111-110, on Tuesday at the MasterCard Center in Beijing to tie the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) finals series 2-all.
Marbury also had seven assists.
The Ducks also got a big boost from Randolph Morris, who had 19 points and nine rebounds, and from Li Gen, who added 16 points.
The Ducks tied the game 108-all after Marbury's three-pointer before center Han Dejun put the Leopards back up 109-108 with a free throw.
Marbury was then fouled after scoring on a layup and later converted the free throw to put the Ducks up 111-109 with 11 seconds remaining.
The Leopards were expected to go to Lester Hudson, but instead ran a play for Han, who was fouled with 1.7 left and was sent to the line.
Han made the first free throw, but missed the second to give the Ducks the win.
The Ducks led 32-27 after the first quarter.
It was in the third quarter when the Leopards made a furious drive to take control of the game, dominating the boards and the painted area and outscoring the Ducks by 16 points.
By the fourth quarter, the Leopards have established a 14-point lead.
The Ducks, realizing their backs were against the wall, mounted a comeback behind Marbury in a bid to avoid going down 3-1 in the series.
Lester Hudson had 41 points, while Han had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Leopards. Guo Ailun added 16 points and seven rebounds for the Leopards.
