Beijing Ducks snaps Guangdong's 15-game winning streak

Xinhua/chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2013-02-04 16:18

BEIJING - Stephon Marbury delighted home fans by leading defending champions Beijing Ducks to a 93-82 victory over leaders Guangdong Hongyuan in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league on Sunday.

Beijing Ducks snaps Guangdong's 15-game winning streak

Randolph Morris, top, of Beijing Ducks slam dunks the ball against Guangdong Hongyuan during their CBA league game in Beijing, Feb 3, 2013. [Photo/CFP]

Marbury, who played a starring role in Beijing's run to the 2012 title, scored game-high 41 points including three 3-pointers in just 30 seconds in the last quarter, as the Ducks snapped Hongyuan's 15-game winning streak. Randolph Morris added 32 points and 12 rebounds.

"Marbury's performance is not a surprise but rather incredible. He has changed our team a lot in all aspects from defense, offense and morale," said Beijing's coach Min Lulei.

Guangdong opened the game with a 6-0 run, but the home team hit back hard as Marbury scored 15 points in the opening quarter.

Marbury, the league's biggest ex-NBA player until Tracy McGrady's arrival, was benched in the second, allowing Guangdong to take control and set up a 48-43 lead into halftime.

But after Beijing entered the final period with a one-point lead, Marbury used just one-and-half minutes to put the game beyond suspense by hitting three consecutive 3-pointers and then a lay-up in a fast break.

Yi Jianlian had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Guangdong. Ike Diogu and Terrence Williams combined for 29 points, a much poorer performance compared with their Beijing counterparts'.

Shandong Gold extended their unbeaten run to 14 matches after defeating Zhejiang Chouzhou 141-100.

Seven players of Shandong contributed double-figure points, with Pooh Jeter top-scoring 20 points.8 This game proved Shandong's powerful attack again after they created the most lop-sided victory of this season by downing Jiangsu Dragons 130-80 last round.

Tracy Mcgrady finished with 21 points but Qingdao Doublestars still lost to Jiangsu Dragons 113-101.

Jiangsu stormed to a 45-18 lead in the opening quarter, the largest margin in this game. Qingdao once cut the deficit down to two points at the start of the final period thanks to Li Tao's 3-pointer. However, Qingdao players lost the momentum later to return to the bottom place.

Bayi Fubang lost to Shanghai Sharks 79-73 at home, though 35-year-old Wang Zhizhi, who led Bayi by 18 points, became the second player after Zhu Fangyu in CBA history to reach the 9,000-point mark.

In other matches, Jilin Northeast Tiger lost to Foshan Long Lions 122-119, Liaoning Hengye downed Fujian SBS 113-104, Dongguan Marco Polo beat Tianjin Ronggang 92-82, and Xinjiang Guanghui held off Zhejiang Guangsha 119-101.

Stephon Marbury of Beijing Ducks dribbles the basketball defended by Zhu Fangyu of Guangdong Hongyuan during their CBA league game in Beijing, Feb 3, 2013. [Photo/CFP]