Former NBA player Yi Jianlian led the Guangdong Southern Tigers to a 103-98 victory over the Beijing Ducks in a 32nd-round match in the ongoing 2016-2017 Chinese Basketball Association season at the Dongguan Basketball Center in Guangdong.

Yi, who last attempted to return to the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers, had a double-double of 27 points and 10 rebounds with two steals and two shot blocks to rally the Southern Tigers to the close win over Stephon Marbury's Ducks.

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Guangdong had a great start to the game with small forward Zhou Peng scoring 13 points as the Southern Tigers took a 34-21 advantage at the end of the opening period, as per Xinhuanet. The hosts continued their onslaught in the second quarter as they surged to a 61-46 halftime lead.

Marbury, who scored a game-high 32 points with three rebounds, four assists, and two steals, spearheaded a third quarter run for Beijing as he scored consecutive baskets for head coach Min Lulei, CCTV English reported. A 13-3 run by the Ducks to close the third period put them within five points, 77-72, at the start of the final quarter.

Beijing took the lead with a 10-4 run to start the fourth quarter, but Guangdong was able to reclaim the lead with five consecutive points from Zhou Zhandong and Ren Junfei, 84-82, with eight minutes left on the clock. Guangdong was leading 100-98 with 18.1 seconds remaining in the game when Yi was fouled from the three-point line. The former Milwaukee, New Jersey, Washington, and Dallas standout then buried all three free throws to give the Southern Tigers a five-point lead.

To cap his impressive performance for the game, Yi blocked Beijing center Zhang Songtao's shot as the final buzzer sounded. The Win snapped Guangdong's two-game losing slide as the team is now fifth in the CBA standings, only one point behind third and fourth-place squads Liaoning Flying Leopards and Zhejiang Guangsha Lions.

Tagschinese basketball association, 2016-2017 Chinese Basketball Association season, guangdong southern tigers, Beijing Ducks, Yi Jianlian