Third-seeded Sichuan Blue Whales pulled off another stunning upset over second-seeded Xinjiang Flying Tigers, 96-93, this time in overtime on the road last Sunday to become one win away from a three-game sweep of their best-of-five semifinal series in the Chinese Basketball Association playoffs.
The Blue Whales finished third in the regular season but they are actually tied with the Flying Tigers with 68 points and the same identical 30-8 record. The two teams have also split their regular season series with Xinjiang taking the first game, 124-118, on Dec. 9th of last year while Sichuan won the second, 112-106, on Jan. 3rd.
Game 2 still needed an extra five minutes to settle the score between the two powerhouse ballclubs even as the visitors started strong, winning the first two quarters, 24-21 and 28-23, to build an eight-point lead at the half, 52-44, via Asia-basket.
The Flying Tigers did not easily give up, though, as they turned on their pressure defense to cut the lead down to six points at the end of the third period, 71-65, then pulled together a huge comeback in the final quarter to even the score, 86-all, in regulation.
Head coach Liu Qiuping's boys could not sustain their momentum in the overtime period, though, as they were outscored by the Blue Whales, 10-7, to lose for the second straight time, as per Sofa Score.
Sichuan dominated the inside during the match, scoring 62 points in the paint as compared to only 42 for Xinjiang. They also outrebounded the Flying Tigers by a whopping 18 rebounds, 57-39, mainly on the offensive boards, 17-9, which dictated the tempo for the visitors.
The Blue Whales were led by a monster game from 7-foot-2 Iranian import and NBA veteran Hamed Haddadi, who fired 38 points and collared a game-high 21 rebounds for coach Yang Xuezeng's side.
Haddadi was backed up by American Mike Harris, who had 28 points and 15 rebounds, and another American, Justin Dentmon, who scored 18 points and grabbed six boards.
The Flying Tigers were spearheaded by former NBA player Bryce Cotton with 23 points and local player Li Gen with 22. American-Filipino import Andray Blatche had a bad game, settling for only 13 points and eight boards, but he had seven assists and four steals.