Former New York Knicks center Samuel Dalembert now plays for CBA's Shanxi Brave Dragons. Dalembert had 16 points & 9 boards during their 112-110 win over the Xinjiang Flying Tigers on Friday. (Photo : Getty Images)
Ninth-running Shanxi Brave Dragons pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the 2015-2016 Chinese Basketball Association season after it nipped erstwhile league-leaders Xinjiang Flying Tigers, 112-110, in a Round 35 game at the Riverside Sports Arena on Friday, Jan 29.
The Brave Dragons, who are now on a three-game winning run, were led by former NBA player Jamaal Franklin with 45 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, and four steals, as per Asia-basket.
Franklin, who played for two seasons in the NBA from 2013 to 2015 with the Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets respectively, was supported by NBA veteran center Samuel Dalembert with 16 points, nine boards, and a blocked shot.
Meanwhile, the Flying Tigers were spearheaded by former Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Andrew Goudelock with 26 points and four assists. Resident main man Andray Blatche only had 13 points, but pulled down 10 boards and had two shot blocks for head coach Li Qiuping's side.
Xinjiang had great games from two of their local players, guard Xiralijan Muhtar, who had 21 points and four assists, and 7-foot-2 center Zhou Qi, who contributed 23 points and 12 rebounds.
It was a nip-and-tuck affair from start to finish with the visitors kicking off from the gates strong and finishing the first quarter with a six-point lead, 30-24, via Sofa Score.
The hosts fought back in the second period with a 27-20 run to overtake Xinjiang by one point at the half, 51-50.
The third canto belonged to the Flying Tigers once more, but only by a point, 29-28, as they enter the fourth quarter tied at 79-all.
From there, it was an even tougher match, but the visitors could not keep up with the home team's energy to eventually lose the game by two points, 112-110.
The Brave Dragons shot 84.4 percent from the free throw line, going 27-of-32, as the Flying Tigers have committed a total of 26 personal fouls in the entire match.
Shanxi's win snapped the Flying Tigers' two-game winning streak and relegated them to second place, tied with the Sichuan Blue Whales and a point behind the Liaoning Flying Leopards, who leads the league with 64 points and a 28-7 win-loss slate.
