The Dacin Tigers forced the deciding Game 3 in first round action of the Super Basketball League playoffs by beating the Videoland Hunters 79-77 in Game 2 on Saturday at the Taipei Physical Education Gymnasium to even the best-of-three series at 1-1.
After reducing a 12-point during the fourth-quarter deficit to to two, the Hunters actually had a chance to win the game on Lin Jia-huang's three-point attempt at the buzzer that would have given them a one-point win.
"We had the shot we wanted on the last play, but Lin simply missed it," Hunters coach Chung Chih-mong said after the game.
The Hunters had to hold off a tough rally by the Tigers late in Game 1 to cling on for the 102-99 win on Thursday.
Unlike the high-scoring start in Game 1, both clubs showed signs of unease as they played to an error-filled 17-16 first quarter in favor of the Hunters.
It took a 15-8 run by the big cats in the latter part of the second quarter to help them build a 39-31 halftime lead.
Scoring icon Tien Lei carried his red-hot shooting from Game 1 (with a career-best, 47-point effort) into the game with 11 first-half points and added another dozen in the third quarter to help the Tigers take a double-digit into the fourth quarter.
Down 74-61 with less than six minutes left to play, the Hunters hit the Tigers with a full-court press, keeping the Tiger offense at bay, while the Hunters chipped away at the deficit to come within two points of the Tigers with under two minutes left in the game.
Even though the Hunters managed to force three Tigers turnovers, they were unable to hit any of the three relatively "makable" shots following each turnover.
"We could have won or at least tied the game with the chances we had at the end, but we just couldn't make the shots when it counted most," Hunters assistant coach Chou Hai-rong said after the game.
Dinos 94, Taiwan Beer 77
Game 2 of the series between the Yulon Dinos and Taiwan Beer saw the defending champs manhandle the brew crew, as the Dinos swept round after the 94-77 victory.
Following a slow start that netted the beermen just 16 points in a 24-16 first quarter, they quickly went to work on the Dinos with a 28-point second quarter behind another solid showing by team leader Lin Chih-jeh (29 points and 12 rebounds in less than 30 minutes of play), leading to a 44-44 tie at the half.
The Dinos went up by 10 by the end of the third quarter 71-61 with a tenacious defense that held the beermen to 17 points, while the Dinos offense racked up 27 points.
An injury to the Lin's right eye two minutes into the fourth quarter kept him off the floor for the rest of the game.
With their lead scorer on the bench, the brewers never got back on track.
"The game was theirs to lose," Taiwan Beer coach Yen Jia-hua said after the game.
"They are undoubtedly the best club in the league, especially with that outstanding defense.
"I wish we had Lin for the whole game, because it might have made a difference on the outcome."
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