Tracy Mcgrady scored season-high 37 points, but still found it difficult to secure his first victory in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) League as Qingdao Doublestar lost to defending champions Beijing Ducks 102-116 here on Sunday.
In his seventh appearance in CBA, T-mac found no number on his jersey before the game as a result of leaving his formal one in hotel carelessly.
However, the seven-time NBA All-star was not distracted by the episode at all, as he tallied 16 points in the first 12 minutes to put Qingdao 33-29 ahead.
But T-mac was benched in the second quarter only to see his team's advantage erased as Randolph Morris, who scored team-high 29 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for Beijing, made several shots in a row in Qingdao's paint field.
When Mcgrady returned in the third period, he was still unstoppable with three free throws and a slam dunk. However, Beijing made a quick turnaround thanks to Stephon Marbury, who dished out 10 assists in the game, and stormed to an 89-70 lead as this quarter ran out.
Shortly after the final one began, Ji Zhe provoked Mcgrady by waving his finger and was then elbowed by the former NBA star. As a result, T-mac was handed a technical foul.
"Mcgrady didn't control his temper, and we need to give him some guidance in the future," said Qingdao's manager Zhang Shizhang.
Tianjin Ronggang's Osama Daghlas was shy of one rebound for a triple-double, having 12 points and 10 assists. But Tianjin were beaten 87-82 at home by league leaders Shandong Gold.
Abbas, who had brilliant performances since joining Shandong this season, had 15 points and 14 rebounds.
The combination of Charles Gaines and Marcus Williams contributed 64 points and 20 rebounds, leading Shanxi Zhongyu to edge past Jilin Northeast Tigers 103-99.
In other matches, Liaoning Hengye crushed over Xinjiang Guanghui 121-99, Shanghai Sharks lost to Zhejiang Guangsha 89-93, Bayi Fubang beat Jiangsu Dragons 107-101, Foshan Long Lions was edged by Zhejiang Chouzhou 102-113 and Fujian SBS lost to Dongguan Marco Polo 93-105.
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