CBA News: Jeremy Lin, Beijing Loses Christmas Day Game Against Xinjiang Tigers

Beijing dropped their Christmas day game at home as the Ducks lost to an 88-87 nail-biter against Xinjiang. With the victory, the Flying Tigers solidified their hold to second place in the CBA standings.

Down by one point off two missed free-throws by Zhou Qi, Zhai Xiaochuan missed the turn-around jumper and Fang Shou got the offensive board but was too deep underneath, his putback hitting the bottom of the board.

Jeremy Lin, who was fielded in for the potential winning play after benched during the team’s onslaught, chipped in 21 points, five assists, four rebounds, and four steals. Ekpe Udoh scored game-high 27 points, 12 rebounds, and has been a beast on the defensive end with his five blocks.

Staring at a nine-point disadvantage halfway through the fourth quarter, the Ducks limited the Xinjiang to only one field goal and went on to a 10-2 run go cut the deficit to one with over a minute left in the game, 85-84.

Beijing had the chance to grab the lead back with under 40 seconds left when Xinjiang missed their consecutive attempts. Udoh, however, threw a long pass for a possible fastbreak chance but the pass was intercepted by Shirelijian Muxtar to the dismay of the partisan Beijing crowd.

The Tigers milked the shot clock before Zeng Linxu buried the trey for the dagger. He finished with game-high eight assists, seven points, three rebounds, and two steals in 29 minutes.

Zhou, a former third-string center for the Houston Rockets, had himself a double-double with 23 points, 13 boards, a steal and a block in 40 minutes while American big man Eric Mika had 20 points and 13 boards – nine coming from the offensive end.

Zhai’s long three-pointer that brought the lead back to one point proved to be the finishing kick for the Beijing to settle the final score. He finished with 17 points, five boards, two steals, and a block for the Ducks, who are currently at the fourth spot in the standings with 14-7 win-loss card.