New Year's Eve is approaching, and on the evening of December 30th, Beijing time, the 24th round of the CBA regular season concluded with the last seven matches. This night, the CBA arranged multiple exciting matchups, including two big wins, one that went into overtime, and two focus battles between Liaoning-Guangdong and Beijing-Xinjiang. There were both wins and losses in the games, so let's take a look at who the big winners of this round are.
Liaoning-Guangdong's 100th matchup saw Yang Ming laugh last again.
Recently, both Liaoning and Guangdong have not been in great shape. Compared to Guangdong, Liaoning's lineup is actually more fragmented, with Zhao Jiwei, Zhang Zhenlin, Cong Mingchen, Liu Yanyu all injured, and the big foreign aid has yet to arrive. Therefore, Yang Ming only had two foreign aids and seven main rotation players available for this game. However, despite this, Yang Ming still managed to secure a victory, with Liaoning defeating Guangdong 95-89, securing a four-game winning streak and continuing to rank fifth. As for the losing Guangdong team, their situation is still okay because several of their competitors also lost in this round, allowing Guangdong to continue ranking ninth. However, the gap between them and the top six championship contenders has widened to as many as four points.
How did Liaoning manage to defeat Guangdong with such a depleted lineup? This cannot be mentioned without highlighting the five best performers of Liaoning in this game. The first is Wells, who scored 30 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and provided 7 assists. With Fugue recently unwell, Wells took on the majority of Liaoning's offensive responsibilities, and his 30 points laid the foundation for Liaoning's victory. The second is Han Dejun, who scored 16 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and provided 2 assists. In the interior matchup against Morland, Han Dejun held his own and protected the rebounds well, preventing Guangdong from launching too many fast breaks. At 37 years old, Han Dejun has been giving it his all recently, playing another 37 minutes in this game, earning him the title of an "iron man."
The other three key players are Wang Lanchen, who scored 16 points, Li Huoyi with 5 points, and Fu Hao with 12 points. These three did not score much in the first three quarters, but in the crucial fourth quarter, they became the decisive figures in determining the outcome of the game. Wang Lanchen scored 9 points in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter alone. Li Huoyi hit a three-pointer and a bank shot during Guangdong's strongest scoring run. Fu Hao received an assist from Han Dejun and hit the decisive three-pointer in the life-or-death stage of the fourth quarter. The trio combined to score 19 points in the fourth quarter (Liaoning scored 28 points in the fourth quarter), working together to defeat the Guangdong team. It must be said that Yang Ming is indeed magical. Every time there is a Liaoning-Guangdong battle, he always manages to use Fu Hao effectively and can even activate one or two surprise players.
Beijing-Xinjiang Battle: Liu Wei Takes Revenge on Xu Limin
This battle was more intense and filled with tension than the Liaoning-Guangdong matchup, with controversies on the court. However, the result was not unexpected, as Xinjiang successfully defended their "devil home court," winning their 14th consecutive victory with a score of 108-97. The key to the victory was not Abdulla, Zhao Rui, or Li Yanzhe, who almost injured Zeng Fanbo and only scored 2 points; it was the team's three shooters: Ilifu Laite, who scored 16 points and grabbed 4 rebounds, Xi Erzati with 18 points, and Big Brother Peterson with 30 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. The trio combined to shoot 13 out of 24 three-pointers (Beijing only made 13 out of 39), using three-pointers to defeat Beijing. Peterson, who was stifled by the opposing defense in the previous round against Liaoning, finally erupted in this game, sinking at least four unreasonable three-pointers.
Beijing Auto also lost without any grievances. Their enthusiasm is worth acknowledging, as they had 7 more rebounds than their opponents. During the game, they were once hit by Xinjiang with a 20-0 run but did not collapse. Due to Zhou Qi's reluctance to play, the team's defensive toughness dropped by a level. Although Jie Man Omutu Solomon both scored in double digits, no one could step up in the critical moments to lead the team forward. Even when Zhao Rui lost his temper in the fourth quarter, they still failed to seize the opportunity.
After the loss, Xu Limin gave another inspiring speech: "Although we lost today, I believe there is still great hope ahead. Everyone must persist, work hard, and unite. If we can identify the true substantive issues, we will definitely have hope."
A Thrilling 153-Minute Battle: Li Tianrong's Overtime Block to Secure Victory Over Tongxi
In a match where Tongxi hosted the recently surging Shanghai, the two teams fought fiercely, with the final outcome only being decided after a 153-minute battle. Tongxi, once trailing Shanghai by 13 points in the fourth quarter, managed to level the score with the help of some controversial refereeing decisions and free throws. Both teams tied at 121 after four quarters, and in the decisive overtime period, Lofton once again became the key player, scoring crucial 7 points. Li Tianrong delivered a block to prevent Zhao Boqing's potential game-winning shot with just 4 seconds left, and Li Hongquan intentionally missed his final free throw. Ultimately, Shanghai narrowly secured their 11th consecutive victory in the "Northern Expedition."
The process of this game was even more dramatic than the Liaoning-Guangdong and Beijing-Xinjiang battles, with the referees' controversial calls in the fourth quarter and overtime becoming a hot topic among fans, especially the disputed free throw by Lif that tied the game in the final stages of the fourth quarter (there were suspicions of early entry).
Setting aside the referees' interference, Tongxi, as the underdog, put on a high-quality shootout battle. This match also exposed some weaknesses in Shanghai, such as Lu Wei's ineffective on-site command in the fourth quarter, over-reliance on the veteran Xue Bu, and failure to bring on Lofton earlier.
Shandong Wins Big by 31 Points Over Sichuan, Shanxi Wins Big by 33 Points Over Jilin
In this round, the two matches with the most lopsided strength contrasts unsurprisingly turned into two major tragedies. The strong Shandong and Shanxi teams won big, with Shandong defeating Sichuan 111-80 and Shanxi defeating Jilin 116-83. In the big win over Sichuan (Han Shuo did not play Samna or Maric, relying on a single foreign aid in a show of weakness), Shandong had five players score in double digits, with all 12 players in the rotation contributing points. Chris scored 20 points and grabbed 6 rebounds, Gali had 15 points, Moore had 18 points, and Chen Peidong had 16 points. Even Xu Mengjun and Hou Peizuo, who usually sit at the end of the bench, had outstanding performances.
Shandong won easily, and so did Shanxi, as their opponent Jilin's current situation is even worse than Sichuan's. Sichuan can afford to lose and save their strength for future games, but Jilin can only continue to lose. Following the injuries to Jiang Yuxing and Jiang Weize, Jilin's key player Jones also got injured, leaving them with only a single foreign aid in this game. They were overwhelmed by Shanxi throughout the match. On the bright side, Jilin scored 83 points, which is better than the 65 points they scored at home in the previous round against Guangdong. However, if Jilin continues to lose like this, they will have no chance in the playoffs. Jilin is now on a four-game losing streak, and their points have been overtaken by Shanghai, who have played two fewer games.
In the other two matches, Guangsha defeated Qingdao 103-89, and Ningbo avenged their previous loss to Guangzhou with a 92-85 victory. In this round, both Qingdao and Guangzhou suffered thorough defeats, with their scores being压制 throughout the game. Facing the league leaders, Liu Weiw
