<img src='https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-12-06/Jiangsu-Dragons-upset-Guangdong-Southern-Tigers-for-1st-win-of-season-1z6xEBjn2ww/img/8bd8d14f7411423aab40660d1a54e891/8bd8d14f7411423aab40660d1a54e891.jpeg' alt='Franklin Jackson (#5) of the Jiangsu Dragons penetrates in the game against the Guangdong Southern Tigers in Dongguan, south China's Guangdong Province, December 5, 2024. /Xinhua'
The Jiangsu Dragons defeated the Guangdong Southern Tigers 100-98 in Dongguan, south China’s Guangdong Province, on Thursday, pocketing their first win of the 2024-25 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) regular season.
Jiangsu had been the only winless team with 13 straight losses before facing Guangdong on the night. The visitors began the first quarter 15-4 when the hosts lost their starting center Wang Shaojie to injury 17 seconds in the game.
Guangdong counted on XuJiie’s jumpers as well as Troy Gillenwater’s offensive aggression to stay in the game. They trailed 28-23 after the first quarter.
Both sides shot low field goal (FG) rates in the second quarter. Guangdong gained the lead 36-35 but only kept it for less than a minute. Franklin Jackson joined Archie Goodwin to constantly charge the home side’s paint, putting Jiangsu back on top. Guangdong’s Xu had to sit on the bench with four personal fouls when there were over five minutes left in the quarter. Hu Mingxuan made a series of shots for them to trail by no more than two points, 48-46, before the halftime break.
The game grew more physical in the second half when Guangdong claimed the lead 58-50 with a 10-0 run. After Hu assisted Gillenwater to make a jumper, the team extended their advantage to 11 points, 63-52. Then Jackson and Goodwin showed dominance again in both scoring and playmaking, cutting Jiangsu’s deficit to two points, 74-72 when the third quarter ended.
Goodwin remained unstoppable in the fourth quarter, scoring eight points in two minutes giving Jiangsu a six-point lead at 97-91 when there were two minutes left. Adonis Arms’s triple and Yang Yi’s free throws put Guangdong only one point behind, 99-98. Then Liu Zexi missed two shots at the free throw line, leaving Guangdong a chance to come back with six seconds left.
However, Arms then tripped and lost the ball to Li Chengyao, forcing Yang to commit a foul to stop the clock. Though Li only made one free throw, Zhang Mingchi’s desperate attempt from downtown ended a brick, failing to reverse the situation for the home team.
In the other day’s game, the Nanjing Monkey Kings beat the Sichuan Blue Whales 97-83 at home.
