Genius Du Feng Strikes Again! Benched Xu Jie for Two and a Half Quarters, Directed Shenzhen's Big Collapse with a 19-13 Fourth Quarter
Zhou Peng and Willis played in the 27th round of the CBA regular season, which was a focus match and the second Guangdong derby. Shenzhen recently had a good momentum with three consecutive victories. Zhou Peng and Willis were also in hot form, scoring a total of 65 points, 19 rebounds, and 18 assists in the previous game against Fujian, returning to their peak. This matchup had many highlights. It was Zhou Peng's first time facing his old club since his return in the second stage. He performed strongly whether he was matched up against Jerren Walker or Bazley. Du Feng also boldly used newcomers, with Xu Xin performing outstandingly. However, the key to victory still lay with Xu Jie.
In the first quarter, Jerren Walker had a hot hand, making 4 out of 4 shots including 2 three-pointers within 5 minutes to score 10 points. It was clear that young Wang Haoran was like a primary school student in front of him. Under the leadership of "King GiGi," Guangdong quickly took a 16-9 lead. Zhou Peng couldn't stand it anymore and replaced himself on the court, actively guarding against "King GiGi." After Zhou Peng returned, Shenzhen started to gain momentum, launching an 11-3 run in 3 minutes to overtake the score. Du Feng called an urgent timeout and replaced Bazley, rarely benching Xu Jie.
At the end of the first quarter, Shenzhen led Guangdong 28-27. Shenzhen dominated the rebounds 15-7, with both teams attacking fiercely inside, but Shenzhen was even more aggressive, thanks to Morland committing 3 fouls. This was due to the big foreign aid Thompson repeatedly hard-charging under the basket (Thompson scored 12 points and 6 rebounds in a single quarter).
In the second quarter, Shenzhen continued to rely on Zhou Peng, Willis, and Thompson, with Morland committing 3 fouls. Du Feng prematurely activated Xu Xin, who had two alley-oop dunks with Xu Jie. However, Xu Jie played for 10 minutes without scoring, and even more absurdly, Bazley, facing Zhou Peng and Willis, was intimidated and dared not attempt long-range shots, nor could he easily score by breaking through. During this period, Guangdong's scoring mainly relied on Jerren Walker, who exploded again, scoring another 5 points in 3 minutes (scoring a total of 24 points and 6 rebounds in the first half), contributing greatly. Xu Jie finally made a three-pointer after missing the first four shots. Under the leadership of Xu Jie and Jerren, Xu Xin also exploded, scoring 6 points in 5 minutes (all assisted by Xu Jie), and Guangdong launched an 8-0 run to stop Shenzhen.
At 6 minutes and 50 seconds, tensions erupted on the court as Bazley, after being stolen by He Xining, became furious and hit He Xining in the abdomen during a tactical foul. The two almost got into a conflict, and the referee called a flagrant foul on Bazley.
Next, Xu Xin, who had a hot hand, suffered an unexpected injury, getting hit in the mouth by Thompson while defending and also receiving a foul, which was a big loss.
Xu Xin, despite his injury, did not leave the court and immediately retaliated against Thompson. Guangdong maintained a lead of around 5 points. At the end of the quarter, Du Feng unusually replaced Yang Yi, daring to let Bazley and Yang Yi lead the team. At halftime, Shenzhen trailed Guangdong 49-55. Shenzhen's problem was in the paint; they had 8 more rebounds in the first quarter, but by the end of the second quarter, they were 2 rebounds short. They lost 10 rebounds to Guangdong in the second quarter. Xu Xin scored 8 points in the first half with 4 out of 5 shots, showing a very good state.
In the third quarter, Du Feng let Yang Yi start alongside Ji Mo (it seemed that Xu Jie had some physical issues). At the beginning, Zhou Peng caused Jerren Walker's fourth foul and made a bank shot against Morland. "King GiGi" and Zhou Peng engaged in a battle of wits and courage. Without Xu Jie organizing the offense, Guangdong played quite chaotically, but fortunately, they had a rebounding advantage, coupled with Shenzhen's crazy misses from beyond the arc (23 out of 3 in two and a half quarters), Guangdong continued to maintain a single-digit lead under the leadership of Ji Mo.
At 6 minutes and 23 seconds, Shenzhen trailed Guangdong by only 1 point, 59-60. Du Feng became anxious and activated Er Fei before the final quarter's decisive battle. On Shenzhen's side, Johnson began to explode, scoring 8 points in a row to keep the score close. Zhang Haojia also exploded, scoring 5 points in a row. Yang Yi, however, was shooting poorly, going 1 out of 8 in the quarter. Zheng Yonggang removed the big foreign aid and switched to a five-small lineup. During this period, Shenzhen began to take the lead under Zhou Peng!
In the third quarter, Zhou Peng unleashed his full firepower, dominating inside against Jerren Walker and scoring 12 points from outside with 2 out of 4 three-pointers. Together with Johnson, they outscored Guangdong 22-17 in the quarter. At the end of the third quarter, Shenzhen trailed Guangdong 71-72. It must be said that without Xu Jie on the court, Guangdong's offensive power dropped by at least 30%.
In the final quarter, Guangdong's lineup was somewhat depleted, with Xu Jie unable to play and Morland having only a slight advantage as a single foreign aid. Jerren Walker, who played 33 minutes in the first three quarters, was physically exhausted, forcing Du Feng to let Bazley lead the team in Xu Jie's absence. In the fourth quarter, Xu Xin and Er Fei became the pillars of Guangdong's offense. Xu Xin, who didn't play in the third quarter, returned with ample energy in the fourth, scoring 4 points in 2 out of 2 shots at the beginning and teaming up with Bazley to score 7 points in a row. Er Fei served as the on-court forward organizer, and Guangdong maintained a slight lead while Zhou Peng and Willis rested.
Shenzhen's problems persisted, with poor three-point shooting against Guangdong's zone defense. In the fourth quarter, Shenzhen had several half-open shot opportunities but failed to capitalize. However, Guangdong's shooting accuracy was also low, and they struggled similarly against Shenzhen's zone defense. Bazley couldn't get any shots to fall. In the last 5 minutes of the fourth quarter, the two teams were tied at 79, pecking at each other like chickens. Du Feng replaced Bazley with Jerren Walker, and at 5 minutes and 8 seconds, Du Feng brought back Xu Jie, who hadn't played for more than a quarter in the second half.
Xu Jie's return had an immediate impact, scoring 4 points in a row to help Guangdong expand their lead. Under Xu Jie's leadership, Guangdong's offense came alive, and Jerren Walker added another 4 points, leading to an 8-0 run that extended Guangdong's lead to 87-79.
Shenzhen did not give up, with He Xining hitting a super-long three-pointer and Wang Haoran making a mid-range shot, scoring 5 points in a row to narrow the gap. In the last minute of the fourth quarter, the game reached a white-hot stage, with Guangdong leading Shenzhen by 3 points. Xu Jie missed a one-on-one challenge against Wang Haoran, but fortunately, Zhang Haojia grabbed a crucial rebound. Xu Jie then scored on a putback after a secondary offensive, extending Guangdong's lead to 89-84, leaving Shenzhen with only 33.3 seconds. Guangdong had the game firmly in hand.
Ultimately, Guangdong successfully defeated Shenzhen 91-84 away from home, securing their third consecutive victory with a thrilling win.
Game Summary:
In this derby battle, several players in the Guangdong team were suffering from influenza before the game, and it is likely that Xu Jie was also affected. Du Feng protected Xu Jie as much as possible, allowing him to play only 12 minutes in the first half and rest in the third quarter. He did not bring Xu Jie back until the last 5 minutes of the fourth quarter. While Xu Jie was on the court, Guangdong remained in the lead throughout. After Xu Jie was benched, during Yang Yi's leadership, Guangdong's offense stalled, once being overtaken by Shenzhen and repeatedly pushed to within single-digit points. Yang Yi's shooting was not up to par, but fortunately, Jerren Walker and Xu Xin provided support.
Xu Jie's timely return in the fourth quarter was the key to Guangdong's victory. Xu Jie scored 6 crucial points in the fourth quarter, totaling 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists in 16 minutes, maintaining a high efficiency. After using Er Fei, who hadn't played in the previous three quarters, as a trump card to defeat Shandong in the last round