Ducks 1 win away from title

CBA Final 4

The Beijing Ducks need to win one more game to lift the CBA trophy as they beat the Xinjiang Flying Tigers 94-88 at the MasterCard Center in Beijing on Wednesday.

Randolph Morris of the Ducks came off the bench to score a -team-high 25 points to send his team 3-1 ahead in the best-of-seven finals. He also grabbed eight rebounds and seven steals in his 36-minute court time.

"Today is all about will," -Morris said after the game. "We -refused to give up, we refused to lose, we knocked down their defense and -rebounds at the end of the game and converted into our offense."

Morris delivered a slam-dunk over Xinjiang's Su Wei at the beginning of the third quarter, which triggered controversy over whether he fouled first as Su's face was covered in blood.

"It's accidental. They did some physical moves and we have to take it," the 28-year-old Morris said.

Teammate Sun Yue bounced back from only three points to 17, which won praise from Morris.

"Sun had a big game," said -Morris. "His quality free throws helped us a lot."

Sun's three shots from the arc at key moments in the second half all stopped the visitors in their tracks.

"I just told Sun at the halftime break 'I trust you,'" Beijing coach Min Lulei revealed after the game. "I'm glad with how he reacted."

"Of course we were a bit loose when we were in the lead, once again our opponents outnumbered us in rebounds," Min said of why his side's double-digit lead was trimmed down to six.

For the Flying Tigers, five players reached double figures, led by Lester Hudson with a match-high 27 points. Uyghur star Xirelijiang Mugetear only netted three before fouling out in the last quarter.

Hudson's four three-pointers in the last quarter brought the visitors some hope of gaining the lead, but he also fouled within a minute of Xirelijiang's departure.

While being cornered at the finals, Xinjiang coach Cui Wanjun said his side still have hope.

"We did well attacking but were denied at shooting," Cui said. "Now we were free from psychological burdens, we aim to fight with our full strength if there's a glimmer of hope.

"We have improved a lot from the last game, especially on zonal defense. We were excellent at defending, but attacking problems stalled us."

Xinjiang's Zhang Qingpeng was also optimistic about his side's chance. "I know no team have won the finals when down by 3-1, but it is history, and history is set to be changed."

The next game is in Beijing on -Friday.