Tien Lei scored a season-high 31 points, while Keith Gayden chipped in another 19 with 13 rebounds, as the Dacin Tigers topped the Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor 97-94 at the Taipei Gymnasium in a shootout last night to kick off the weekend with a big splash.
It was Tien’s best outing of the season so far, giving the three-time league MVP something to cheer about after a couple of injury-plagued seasons that had many doubting if he would ever rediscover his form.
Tien’s timely awakening could be the key to the Tigers’ success this year.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
“I guess I had the hot hand tonight and the shots were all falling for me,” Tien explained after the game.
He shot an outstanding 12 for 18 from the field with four three-pointers, while converting three of four free-throw attempts.
Kaoliang Liquor had the upper hand in the early going with hired gun Shawn “the Hawk” Hawkins scoring 10 points in the opening quarter to give his team a narrow 22-19 lead through 10 minutes of play.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Hawkins was the best performer for the losing team, hitting 13 of 23 buckets to score 29 points with eight boards, eight assists, a block and a steal.
However, the Cats would return the favor in the second quarter with Gayden scoring eight from the low-post to close out the first half with a slim 42-41 lead.
That was when Tien decided to take matters in his own hands, as the Dacin icon erupted for 13 points in the third quarter to help his team add to their lead in a high-scoring quarter that saw the two teams put up 54 points on the board before finishing off the night with a sweet dozen in the fourth to nail down the victory.
Hapless Kaoliang Liquor put up a good fight against the Tigers and almost pulled off an upset win with top scorer the Hawk leading a three-point attack, converting a season-best 13 of 24.
Kinmen actually enjoyed a small lead in the fourth quarter before faltering in the end.
Down by three with fewer than 20 seconds remaining in the game, Chen Jing-huan had a chance to tie it with his three-point attempt on Kinmen’s final possession, but his desperation attempt would fall short with the closely guarded Hawkins unable to receive the ball, dealing Kaoliang Liquor their seventh defeat in their last eight contests.
LUXGENS 74, LEOPARDS 71
The Yulon Luxgens took a 14-point first-half lead against the Taiwan Mobile Leopards and held off a tenacious rally by the Leopards in the second half to prevail in the second game at the Taipei Gymnasium last night.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
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