体坛英语新闻：Marbury helps Beijing beat Guangdong in first match of CBA semifinals

BEIJING, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Beijing Ducks had a hard-earned 90-87 home victory over the eight-time champions Guangdong Hongyuan in the first match of Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league semifinals on Tuesday.

Beijing led 1-0 in the best-of-five series. Former NBA player Stephon Marbury, who helped Beijing gain 2011-12 CBA champion, scored the highest 31 points in spite of 10 points in the first half.

Despite a 29-25 lead in the first quarter, Beijing only collected eight points in the second quarter which saw Guangdong take 23 points to enjoy a double-figure lead.

Yi Jianlian, who had played for the Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets, Washington Wizards, and Dallas Mavericks, contributed 15 points and seven rebounds to Guangdong at halftime.

Beijing fell behind for most of the time in the second half, but they managed to come from behind in the final minutes. The score was 85-85,

Beijing called a timeout in the last one and a half minute when the score was 85-85. Beijing's Randolph Morris contributed four points for the crucial win.

Yi Jianlian had a team-high 27 points and 14 rebounds.

According to sources with CBA organizers, Yi was awared the MVP as a domestic player for the 2013-14 CBA regular season, while Lester Hudson won MVP as a foreign player by leading Xinjiang Guanghui to reach semifinals.