Xinjiang needs one more win to advance into CBA finals

Xinjiang Guanghui edged past Dongguan Marco Polo 114-111 at home, taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five semifinals of Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league on Friday.

Statistics showed that Dongguan has never tasted victory at Xinjiang's home since playing in CBA.

Five Xinjiang players had double figures. Lester Hudson finished with 40 points and eight rebounds. Tang Zhengdong provided much help from the paint field with 21 points.

Two teams tied at 110 with 18.4 seconds remaining, before Hudson made both free throws on Luo Hanchen's foul. Luo also got the chance to tie the game, while missing 1 of 2 shots on free-throw line.

Hudson made another pair of free throws to help his team build a 3-point lead with nine seconds left.

Clock failed to run then, raising controversy between two teams as Dongguan has already missed a 3-pointer attempt. However, Bobby Brown didn't grasp the opportunity once again, shooting an air ball from behind the arc.

Bobby Brown contributed game-high 45 points. Gu Quan scored 14. Donte Greene and Luo Hanchen had 12 apiece.

Zhang Kai scored four points in a row, helping Dongguan for a 9-3 lead after the tip-off. Dongguan led by 28-24 after the first period.

After trailing by nine points into haltime, Xinjiang took a 13-4 run to come back. The hosts led by four points after the third quarter, and finally took a hard-won game in their hands.

Game 3 of two teams will be held in Xinjiang's home on Sunday.