Southern Tigers rally to beat Loong Lions for seventh straight win

The Guangdong Southern Tigers came back from a 19-point deficit to defeat the Guangzhou Loong Lions 85-77 in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, on Thursday, extending their winning streak in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) to seven games.

Both sides struggled to make shots, but the Southern Tigers could not match their opponents' form when the game began. The visitors were unable to score more than 29 points in the first half, 18 in the first quarter and 11 in the second. They missed 11 of their 14 triples in the first quarter during which three starters, Xu Jie, Huang Rongqi and Du Runwang all had zero points.

By contrast, the Loong Lions continued to see offensive contributions from different players as Tahjere McCall and Davion Warren kept charging the opponents' paint. Having exploited the Southern Tigers' five-minute scoring drought, the home team drove a 12-0 run and led 48-29 before the halftime break.

The situation took a dramatic turn from in the third quarter as the Loong Lions kept throwing bricks and committing turnovers. The Southern Tigers began the second half with a 22-2 run and outscored the opponents 33-11 in this quarter. Xu, Zhang Haojia and Troy Gillenwater combined to drop 43 points for their side to lead 62-59 after the first three quarters.

Yuan Zhaoyao drained two straight triples for the Loong Lions as the fourth quarter began, but the only teammate he could count on to score was McCall, who caused a lot of trouble with his offensive aggression. Zhang was fouled out as a result.

The hosts led 77-76 when there were two minutes left. However, they failed to make any shot until the end of the game. McCall was blocked twice. Li Xiangbo committed two turnovers. Xu knocked down a three-pointer to put the Southern Tigers back in the lead at 79-77 before setting up Gillenwater to make a decisive jumper. Gillenwater and Huang both added two free throws to give the Loong Lions their third consecutive loss.