BEIJING - Seven-time NBA All-Star Tracy Mcgrady failed to earn his first victory in China after Qingdao Doublestar met second consecutive defeat by losing 80-92 to Foshan Long Lions in the second round of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league on Wednesday.
Despite teammates' poor showing, Mcgrady led Qingdao with 32 points, five assists and five rebounds. However, the former Houston Rockets superstar, who played alongside Yao Ming for six years from 2004 to 2010, was only 3 of 11 from the three-point line.
"We wanted Mcgrady to get more possession to improve the offence. He had many good passes and tried his best to help us, but others missed too many open shots," said Qingdao's South Korean coach Kang Jung-soo.
D.J. Mbenga, who won the NBA championship twice with Los Angeles Lakers, had a disappointing night with only 8 points and 5 rebounds. Foshan outrebounded Qingdao 45-28 and caught 13 offensive boards in the whole match.
"The rebounds killed us tonight. Mbenga missed the practice in the morning due to a cold," Kang added.
Qingdao was out of form from the beginning and trailed 17 points at the break. Although Mcgrady completed a three-point play to cut the deficit to 62-72 at the midway of the third quarter, Qingdao still appeared sloppy at the final quarter, allowing Foshan to build the lead to 15 points to seal the victory.
Yi Jianlian made another brilliant performance with 33 points and 11 rebounds as he led Guangdong Hongyuan to beat Shanxi Zhongyu 114-107.
Guangdong led as many as 13 points at the midway of the third quarter, but Shanxi fought back with Marcus Williams, who hit a 3-pointer as the horn sounded at the end of the third to help Shanxi tie it at 82.
Yi dominated the last quarter by hitting a pair of inside baskets and converting two important free throws. Then Guangdong never gave Shanxi a opportunity to get closer.
In Wednesday's other games, Tianjin Ronggang beat Shanghai Sharks 95-76, Dongguan Marco Polo beat Zhejiang Guangsha 91-86, Shandong Gold beat Bayi Fubang 98-74, Xinjiang Guanghui beat Fujian SBS 105-87.
The defending Champion Beijing Ducks defeat Jilin Northeast Tigers 110-102 on Tuesday.
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