The Liaoning Flying Leopards broke the championship dream of the Guangdong Southern Tigers by defeating the defending champions 115-113 on Thursday night. Liaoning came back from a huge 22-point trail to take this win.

Guo Ailun dropped 28 points, five assists and five steals for Liaoning. His teammate O. J. Mayo had 28 points, six rebounds, two steals. Han Dejun got 17 points, 10 rebounds and Zhao Jiwei contributed 10 points, eight rebounds to their team.

Sonny Weems came so close to helping Guangdong win their 10th title with his 37 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists. Yi Jianlian had a double-double of 16 points, 10 rebounds. Zhao Rui scored 16 points and buried four triples for his team.

Unlike Game 1 in which smoothing defense made every point extremely difficult, Game 2 began with both sides being on fire. Guangdong sank 16 triples at a 3-point rate of 53.33 percent while Liaoning made 14 shots from downtown at a 3-point rate of 45.16 percent.

Liaoning did two things right which played important roles in helping the team come back from a 22-point trail. Their players were more determined when they had the chance to shoot. That was how Guo continued to bury those unbelievable 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Since both sides chose zone defense for most time of the game, open shots, especially in the corner were not easy to find.

It was the confidence of the champion team that helped Guangdong make those shots. As for Liaoning, it was the will to keep the game alive that helped them bury all those valuable shots.

The other key factor in Liaoning's victory was their enhanced aggressiveness. Compared with Game 1 in which Liaoning's players always backed off from the opponents' defense in the paint, Game 2 watched Guo, Han and their teammates drive towards Guangdong's rim again and again. Thanks to such brave efforts, they stepped onto the 3-point line and made 23 shots from there.

Despite all this improvement of their game, Liaoning still trailed in most of the game. They were good, but Guangdong were better. Guangdong continued to maintain their defensive pressure no matter how many 3-pointers Liaoning made until the beginning of the fourth quarter. In only a few minutes, Guangdong's players lost their focus on the court while Liaoning spotted this flaw and went after it with full power. Thanks to the scoring run led by Guo who got 10 points in the last quarter, Liaoning gained the lead in the last quarter and had the game pace in control.

To be fair, Guangdong were playing the game in the right way in most of the time and if they continue to do so in Game 3, their chance of winning the title is still bigger than that of Liaoning. However, Liaoning's players already proved that as long as there is a chance, no matter how small it is, they are able to create miracle with it.

Game 3 will take place on Saturday.