The Guangdong Southern Tigers defeated the Shanxi Loongs 121-119 at home in Dongguan, south China's Guangdong Province, on Tuesday, avoiding their third straight loss.

The game was physical from the beginning with both sides counting 34 fouls in total. The hosts' Wang Shaojie and visitors' Hamidou Diallo, Jiao Hailong and Xing Zhiqiang were all fouled before the end of a contest that lasted nearly three hours.

Brandon Goodwin and Diallo combined to drive a 10-2 run for Shanxi to lead in the first quarter. Troy Gillenwater and Adonis Arms helped Guangdong remain competitive before the quarter ended 29-27 with Shanxi leading.

Du Runwang joined Gillenwater to give Guangdong a 12-4 run that gave the home team a six-point lead, 41-35, but their advantage didn't last long after a field goal (FG) drought. The first half tied up 60-60.

The two teams continued to exchange leads in the third quarter. Gillenwater remained the sharpest offensive weapon of Guangdong while Liu Chuanxing and Yuan Shuai stepped up to score for Shanxi. Diallo set up a dunk for Liu to put their side up 92-90 before the final quarter.

Guangdong had no response to Liu's dominance in the paint in the fourth when Yuan and Goodwin both drained triples for Shanxi to lead 104-94. Du became the hosts' go-to guy from downtown at the end of the game and he knocked down three straight shots there. Goodwin replied with a three-pointer to tie the score 119-119 with only19 seconds left.

Guangdong had Xu Jie run his final play as he dribbled until the last-three second to make his move. He drove into the paint quickly and made a jumper despite deflection from defenders as the game clock went down, leaving no time for Shanxi to come back.