The Beijing Ducks will have former NBA star Stephon Marbury until 2017. (Photo : Reuters)
Stephon Marbury scored 30 as the Beijing Ducks toppled the Liaoning Flying Leopards, 105-93, on Thursday at MasterCard Center for a 3-2 lead at the Chinese Basketball Association finals.
Marbury also had five assists, three steals and four rebounds.
Randolph Morris had 17 points and 13 assists, Li Gen added 24 points, and Sun Yue had 14 points for the Ducks, who can clinch its second straight CBA title and the third in last four seasons on Sunday.
The Ducks, down by two points at the end of the third period, outscored the Leopards 37-23 in the final quarter. The Leopards had difficulty in scoring in the final minute, with Lester Hudson missing three straight three-point shots.
The Ducks led 23-21 after the first quarter, but the Leopards bounced back in the second quarter to take a 48-44 advantage by half time.
Hudson had 31 points, nine rebounds and six assists to lead the Leopards. However, he missed 10 out of his 12 shots beyond the arc. Han Dejun and Guo Ailun added 13 points each.
The series has been a shoot out between former NBA star Marbury and Hudson, the reigning CBA MVP and former NBA player who has been doing much of the scoring for the Leopards team.
In game 3, the Leopards prevailed behind the 41 points by Hudson against the 22 by Marbury as the Leopards won 109-108.
But in game 4, Marbury scored 36 to counter Hudson's 41 points in the Ducks' 111-110 victory.
Game six will be at the Leopards' home court at Benxi Gymnasium in Liaoning.
