Newcomer Pickett fails to save Xinjiang in overtime

Tim Pickett pushed the game into overtime but failed to save his new club Xinjiang Guanghui from a 114-112 loss to Zhejiang Chouzhou in his debut of the season in the Chinese Basketball Association league (CBA) on Friday.

The shooting guard scored a game-high 35 points and made a crucial basket to tie it 101-all in the regular time.

Pickett only got the way to play for Friday night's game a few hours before the tip-off and he collected nine rebounds, six assists and five steals to impress his new teammates.

Xinjiang, which changed both of their two foreign players after 18 matches, hung on to the seventh placings with 10 wins. It was a big drawback compared to the 31-1 record last season for Xinjiang.

They signed former Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin and former Portlant Trailblazers' guard Patrick Mills. Both had been waived by the team.

The home team Zhejiang led only five points to enter the fourth quarter but let Xinjiang pull back for an extra time.

Neither side had a clear advantage in the final five minutes. Ding Jinhui made one of his two free-throws to give a slim two-point lead with 17.3 seconds to go. Xu Guochong missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer on the buzzer.

Beijing Ducks lost the sixth in their last seven matches as they were beaten by Dongguan Marco Polo 109-85 at home.

Their record dropped to 14-6 after a record-breaking 13-0 start of the season. They fell to the third placings as the table-leaders Guangdong Hongyuan extended the margin by two wins on 16-4.

Friday's game was quite a sweet revenge for Dongguan, which lost 101-100 in their first encounter this season, as the road team led all the way to the victory.

Stephon Marbury had 31 points and nine assists for another solo performance, but the Ducks could not benefit from the efforts of their star point guard.

They trailed seven points in the first half, 11 after three quarters and as many as 24 in the so-called decisive fourth period, and never found a slim chance of victory.

In other matches, Shandong Gold beat Jilin Northeast Tigers 100-99, Foshan Long Lion beat Zhejiang Guangsha 97-96, Qingdao Double Star beat Liaoning Hengye 111-96, Shanxi Zhongyu beat Bayi Fubang 110-105, Guangdong Hongyuan beat Tianjin Ronggang 110-97, and Fujian SBS beat Jiangsu Dragons 105-84.