The Guangdong Southern Tigers had a hard-fought 94-89 victory over the Zhejiang Golden Bulls in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league on Thursday, snapping Zhejiang's
Yi Jianlian's powerful dunk started Guangdong's ferocious offense, before Marshon Brooks led a 9-0 run with his accurate three-pointers to give Guangdong a 28-21 advantage after the first quarter.
Zhejiang fought back from the beginning of the second quarter with a 9-0 run, cutting the deficit to one point in only three minutes. Wang Yibo's lay-up in a fast break helped Zhejiang gain the upper hand, 32-31.
The Southern Tigers regrouped and fortified their defense, but the Golden Bulls stayed strong and led the match 48-46 at half-time, before maintaining their advantage 76-74 after a seesawing third quarter.
With only eight players available, the Golden Bulls showed signs of fatigue in the final minutes. With 4:52 left, Brooks and Du Runwang dropped the last straw on the overburdened Golden Bulls by burying a string of three-pointers to seal Guangdong's seventh consecutive victory this season.
Justin Hamilton achieved a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds, with Brooks adding 23 points for Guangdong. Lu Wenbo had a game-high 27 points for Zhejiang.
In Thursday's other game, the Beijing Royal Fighters defeated the Tianjin Pioneers 97-91, with Gao Deng nailing 28 points.
