Postseason experience came through in a big way for the Yulon Dinos as they overcame a 10 point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat Taiwan Beer 81-79 in Game 1 of the Super Basketball League championship series at the Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium Saturday night.
All-Star center Tseng Wen-ding who averaged 30 points per game over the Dinos' four first-round matches struggled with just 10 points during the first three quarters of the game against frequent double-team coverage from Taiwan Beer.
But with the game on the line, the former championship-series MVP rose to the occasion to score ten of the Dinos' final 21 points, including the game-winning free throws with 7.7 seconds remaining, for the Dinos victory.
PHOTO COURTESY SBL
"The penetration inside by the guards was what freed me up for the easy buckets late in the game, so the credit should go to the guards," Tseng said.
Behind five three-pointers from four different players, the brew crew greeted the defending champs with a 20-6 lead before letting up a bid to close out the first quarter up 27-19. Then came an evenly matched second quarter that had Taiwan Beer adding to its lead by a deuce to end the first half with a surprising double-digit advantage (50-40).
A 9-0 run by the Dinos in the early going of the third quarter cut the beer crew's lead to only two, before they regrouped in a hurry to build the lead back to ten on the strength of several hard drives to the basket by Lin "The Beast" Chih-jeh.
PHOTO: AFP
Wei Yong-tai's 17-foot jumper two minutes into the fourth initiated what turned out to be a slow, but steady Dinos comeback as they chipped away at the Taiwan Beer lead with alerting defense and Tseng's rediscovered inside presence that included three monstrous dunks in the game-deciding fourth.
With the game tied at 79-all, the brewers had possession of the ball for the potential game-winner. But point guard Chen Shih-nian's careless pass that was intercepted by the Dinos led to a foul on the other end of the floor on Tseng for the game-winning free throws.
Trailing by two with under six seconds to play, power forward Shang Wei-fang had a chance to win the game for Taiwan Beer with a long three-point attempt that bounced off the rim as time expired.
"There is no substitute for big game experience, and that was the difference in the game," Taiwan Beer coach Yen Jia-hua said.
The Dinos win kept their perfect record in the championship round intact at 7-0 with back-to-back three-game sweeps over the past two seasons in claiming two straight SBL titles.
Tigers 111, Bank of Taiwan 94
The Dacin Tigers had no trouble against the bankers in claiming a 111-94 blowout win in Game 1 of the consolation round.
Top scorer Tien Lei poured in a game-high 34 points and 17 rebounds for the victorious Tigers as they let off a load of frustration for missing the championship series by opening the game with an explosive 32-point first quarter before the eventual rout.
First-round hero Yang Jin-min led all bankers with 26 points and six rebounds in an afternoon where they were simply outplayed in every facet of the game by a motivated Dacin squad.
NBA
Vince Carter scored 28 points, Richard Jefferson had 22 and the New Jersey Nets beat the Indiana Pacers 97-88 on Saturday to tie their National Basketball Association Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at two games apiece.
Nenad Krstic added 21 points for the Nets and Jason Kidd had 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal scored 22 points before fouling out with 1:21 left. Pacers forward Peja Stojakovic sat out with an injured right knee.
New Jersey led 76-57 at the end of the third quarter, but the Nets helped the Pacers get back into the game. Two quick technical fouls were called on Jefferson and New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank with 12:15 left in the fourth quarter and the Nets' Jason Collins was called for a flagrant foul on O'Neal with 10:01 left.
The Pacers took advantage and went on a 13-3 run that cut the deficit to 79-70 with 9 minutes left. A three-point play by Stephen Jackson and a 3-pointer by Anthony Johnson cut New Jersey's lead to 91-86 with 2:10 left, but the Pacers got no closer.
Bucks 124, Pistons 104
At Milwaukee, Michael Redd scored 40 points and T.J. Ford had a career-high 15 assists to lead Milwaukee to its first home playoff victory over Detroit in 30 years.
Milwaukee set a season high for points by a Pistons opponent. Detroit still leads the Eastern Conference series 2-1. Game 4 is on Monday night in Milwaukee.
Redd set a playoff career high for points, three off his overall career high, and Ford finally found his rhythm at the point, adding seven points and seven rebounds. Mo Williams added 20 points, Jamaal Magloire had 12 and Bobby Simmons and Toni Kukoc 10 each for the Bucks.
Chauncey Billups led six players in double figures for Detroit with 26 points, while Rasheed Wallace added 18.
Mavericks 94, Grizzlies 89
At Memphis, Tennessee, Dirk Nowitzki scored 36 points, including a 3-pointer to send the game into overtime and six points in the extra period, to help Dallas take a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.
The Grizzlies, still without a postseason victory, slowed the Dallas offense that had overpowered them in first two games and held off the Mavericks until late in regulation. However, Nowitzki and the Mavs were simply too much.
Dallas outscored Memphis 18-13 in overtime, led by Nowitzki and Jason Terry who had five points in the extra period to finish with 22.
Pau Gasol, the Grizzlies' scoring leader who has struggled against the Mavericks, scored 16 points -- two in overtime. Chucky Atkins had 20 points to lead Memphis, but missed the Grizzlies' final shot in regulation on an attempted layup.
The Grizzlies dropped to 0-11 in the playoffs, the longest losing streak of any playoff team before a first postseason victory. They also tied the NBA record for consecutive playoff losses set by Denver in 1994.
Bucks 124, Pistons 104
At Milwaukee, Michael Redd scored 40 points and T.J. Ford had a career-high 15 assists to lead Milwaukee to its first home playoff victory over Detroit in 30 years.
Milwaukee set a season high for points by a Pistons opponent. Detroit still leads the Eastern Conference series 2-1. Game 4 is on Monday night in Milwaukee.
Redd set a playoff career high for points, three off his overall career high, and Ford finally found his rhythm at the point, adding seven points and seven rebounds. Mo Williams added 20 points, Jamaal Magloire had 12 and Bobby Simmons and Toni Kukoc 10 each for the Bucks.
Chauncey Billups led six players in double figures for Detroit with 26 points, while Rasheed Wallace added 18.
Clippers 100, Nuggets 86
At Denver, Corey Maggette finished with 19 points and Elton Brand had 11 points and 10 rebounds to help Los Angeles move within a victory of the franchise's first playoff series win in 30 years.
The Clippers ended a 13-year road playoff drought, shooting 62 percent in the first half and matching the offense with stifling defense in the second as the Nuggets continued to struggle from the floor.
Denver shot 42 percent, the Nuggets' highest total in the series but not nearly enough to match the Clippers. Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The Clippers moved ahead 3-1 in the best-of-seven series and can clinch Monday night in Los Angeles.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
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