Peterson pours in game-high 38 points as Fujian Sturgeons shock Beijing Ducks

Q.J. Peterson poured in a game-high 38 points to help the Fujian Sturgeons battle from behind and shock the Beijing Ducks 109-104 at home on Thursday, ending the visiting team's four-game winning streak in the Chinese Basketball Association.

Beijing looked to be in full control in the first half. Zhou Qi drove down the middle and finished with a layup to increase the Ducks lead to nine, seemingly putting the road side on course to extend their run in the league.

Everything changed after halftime, however, with Zou Yang drilling a corner three early in the third quarter to spark Fujian's comeback.

Peterson then attacked off the dribble and nailed a pull-up jumper to trim the deficit to four. The 31-year-old American guard caught fire from distance, first sinking a three to make it a two-point game, before burying a deep, off-balance triple to give the Sturgeons their first lead at 71-70.

In the fourth period, Yoan Makoundou went right at Zhou, driving one-on-one for a tough layup, as Fujian's cushion grew to eight. Beijing responded with a key adjustment, bringing in JaVale McGee for Eugene German, with the former NBA center immediately changing the tempo.

McGee grabbed an offensive rebound and powered in the putback in to close the gap to single digits, before hustling to the rim for an alley-oop layup. In the clutch, he hauled down a defensive board, dribbled coast-to-coast and hammered home a one-handed dunk to bring the Ducks within a deuce. Moments later, he canned a jumper off Lei Meng's assist to tie the score at 98-98.

In less than four minutes on court during that stretch, McGee scored 13 of Beijing's 16 points, en route to finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

But just when the Ducks seemed to have all the momentum, the Sturgeons steadied themselves through Zou, who nailed another big three before scoring again inside to restore the advantage for the hosts. He ended the night with a 25-point, 10-rebound double-double.

Led by Peterson's 38 points and Zou's clutch heroics after the break, Fujian held on for a five-point victory, handing Beijing an unexpected defeat while extending its own winning spree to three games.