The Fubon Braves picked up their second win in as many days by roughing up the Yulon Luxgens 77-61 at the Kaohsiung Fengshan Gymnasium last night to take a surprising 2-1 lead in their best-of-five post-season series.
Earl Barron had another big day at the office with a game-high 31 points and 15 rebounds for the Braves, dominating the Yulon interior defense at will in the absence of big man Liam McMorrow, who injured his knee during practice on Friday.
The former NBA standout justified his Foreign Player of the Year award by taking the ball strong to the hoop against Luxgen center Lee Teh-wei from the get-go en route to a monstrous night.
Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times
“I had a better start than yesterday and that made a big difference,” Barron said, referring to his four-point first half on Saturday, before he erupted for 21 points in the second half to lead his team to victory.
Also starring for the Braves was Joseph Lin, who celebrated his Rookie of the Year selection with a solid all-around effort that was two assists shy of a double-double (18 points and eight assists).
The point man out of Hamilton College, New York, took the Yulon back-court to school with several off-balance jumpers and some nifty passing to demonstrate his tremendous versatility.
Similar to Saturday’s game, the Automakers had the upper hand early in the contest with three three-pointers in the opening frame to take a 20-17 lead after the first quarter, but that was the extent they were in the game as the Braves outscored them 21-12 in the second by attacking the offensive glass, while holding Yulon to dismal five-for-20 shooting from the floor.
Both teams have today off to regroup before tomorrow night’s Game 3, when the Automakers must win to force a Game 4.
The Braves could clinch the series with another win to earn the right to take on top seeds Pure Youth Construction in the semi-finals which are scheduled to start on Saturday.
DACIN TIGERS 94, BANK OF TAIWAN 90
Third seeds the Dacin Tigers swept their best-of-five series against Bank of Taiwan with a 94-90 win in the series-clincher in Kaohsiung last night.
Chou Yi-hsiang’s two clutch free throws with 18 seconds remaining turned an 89-90 deficit into a 91-90 lead for the Cats as they rallied in a game that featured three lead changes and five ties in the fourth quarter alone, before delivering the final knockout blow to the Bankers.
Chou’s game-winning free throws could not have come at a better time after the Tigers icon had missed a golden opportunity to seal the win by failing to connect on two free throws with 1 minute, 38 seconds to go in the fourth quarter to let the Bankers back into the game.
The victory earned the Dacin Tigers a semi-final berth against second seeds Taiwan Beer on Saturday.
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