In this round of the game where Liaoning defeated Beikong 104-101 at home, head coach Yang Ming was extremely dissatisfied after the match. He was furious during post-game interviews and press conferences, using the word "arrogance" twice to severely criticize many players on the Liaoning team. What exactly happened? Let's review what specifically occurred in the last five minutes of the game.
Liaoning actually eliminated the suspense early in the game. The two teams were evenly matched in the first half, but Liaoning took control in the third quarter, leading Beikong by as many as 12 points at the end of the third quarter. In the decisive fourth quarter, both teams experienced varying degrees of offensive struggles. However, Beikong dug a bigger hole for themselves in the third quarter, and in the fourth quarter, they allowed Liaoning to go on a 16-10 run, increasing the deficit to as much as 18 points. Usually, at this point in the game, Liaoning just needed to play out the clock, and the suspense would be gone. However, in the last five minutes, Liaoning dug an even bigger hole for themselves, causing Yang Ming and the home fans to almost break out in cold sweat, nearly stealing the headlines from Xinjiang's upset loss to Fujian.
With 4 minutes and 53 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Zhao Jiwei scored 2 points with a layup. In the following nearly five minutes, Liaoning failed to score a single point, allowing Beikong to go on a 15-0 run. It was only because Salinger missed a three-pointer with 4.9 seconds left that Liaoning avoided being dragged into overtime and potentially suffering a great comeback.
Ultimately, Liaoning's mentality became lax in this game, thinking that an 18-point lead meant everything was fine. They didn't expect Beikong and Yan Jun to not give up on the game. After the game, Wells was the first to leave the court without fist-bumping his teammates, while Yang Ming was furious. During the interview, Yang Ming said: "Our current squad depth is good, but our on-court fighting spirit and attention to detail are not as good as during our toughest times. I don't know where their arrogance comes from."
At the post-game press conference, Yang Ming unleashed his anger, mercilessly criticizing the team: "We were just three minutes away from creating another kind of history. I also exploded in the locker room earlier. If you think the game is going well or if you don't want to give your all on the court, you shouldn't stay on the court. I don't know where today's arrogant attitude comes from. We need to learn to endure hardships. Although we won today, there's nothing to be happy about."
So, who exactly was the one who held back the team in the fourth quarter and did not give their all? According to the post-game review, four veterans and one young player need criticism.
Firstly, Zhao Jiwei, who scored 13 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and had 7 assists in this game, had an acceptable efficiency, but his plus-minus was only -6. In the last five minutes of the fourth quarter, he was on the court the whole time, missing two three-point attempts and making a low-level turnover.
Secondly, Fu Hao's recent performance has been lackluster, with the interior being penetrated by Zhu Songwei and Shen Zijie, and on the offensive end, he embarrassingly performed a "bridge throw," indirectly leading to Han Dejun's foul (Zhu Songwei was suspected of diving).
However, Fu Hao's problems seem less severe than Li Xiaoxu's. Li Xiaoxu played 33 minutes, the second-highest in the team, with a personal plus-minus of -10, the lowest in the team. In the fourth quarter, Li Xiaoxu made two receiving turnovers and two defensive lapses, and all four of his shots were missed (Beikong focused on Zhao Jiwei with the ball and intentionally let Li Xiaoxu shoot).
Yang Ming also noticed Li Xiaoxu's issues and replaced him with Han Dejun with one minute and a half left in the fourth quarter. However, the unfortunate Han Dejun was soon called for a rebounding foul by the referee and fouled out with six fouls. Yang Ming had no choice but to bring Li Xiaoxu back in again.
The fourth player to criticize is Wells. At the stage when Beikong was making the strongest push to catch up in points, Yang Ming reactivated Wells. Perhaps because he rested too long on the bench, Wells returned with no touch, embarrassingly missing an easy basket like Fu Hao. This might also be the reason why Wells did not thank the crowd after the game. However, it must be said that Wells' individual statistics were actually not bad, scoring 18 points with 3 rebounds and 3 assists (his scoring was not high because Ferg scored 41 points, overshadowing him).
Li Huyi, who replaced Yan Shouqi, who was benched by Yang Ming in this game, also needs criticism. With 20.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Li Huyi made a low-level dribbling turnover, which Liu Xiaoyu turned into an out-of-bounds call, and he also gave Zhu Songwei a 2+1 opportunity during a rebound, almost causing a disaster.
Fans familiar with Yang Ming know that what he cannot tolerate most is players who do not give their all on the court. Players who can take the court must not only have outstanding professional skills but also a serious attitude towards each game. However, Yang Ming himself also has problems. In the final stages of the game, when Beikong kept scoring, Yang Ming did not call many timeouts to adjust, allowing the players on the court to make mistakes. Throughout the game, Liaoning allowed Salinger to get 23 free throws, more than Liaoning's entire team, yet Yang Ming had few countermeasures.