Ducks study up, pass second test

BEIJING - You figure out what you did wrong, you correct it, you come back and do better.

That's what the Beijing Ducks proved on Wednesday night in the second game of their CBA semifinal series against the Shanxi Brave.

After losing the opening game in Taiyuan on Sunday, Ducks coach Min Lulei said the team lacked fighting spirit and solid defense – two of their trademarks.

Coming back home to supportive fans, the Ducks rekindled their confidence in a 132-123 victory.

Of course, 52 points from Stephon Marbury didn't hurt either.

"Obviously, (Marbury's performance) helped a lot. It's not all about the 52 points, it's about how it worked to inspire other players and helped to regain our belief that we could win the series," Min said after the game.

"His effort brought up the whole team's energy from the beginning of the game. And that fighting will helped us do a better job on defense than last game."

Scoring 25 points in the first quarter - a new CBA postseason scoring record for a single period - Marbury rested his legs on the bench for most of the second quarter and come back to fire another 27 points in less than two quarters in the second half.

"I played more aggressive that usual today. It's not only me - all the team played aggressive tonight and we should keep it up for the next game," the former NBA all-star said in the locker room..

He just missed out on eclipsing his CBA personal-best of 55 points, but Marbury said he's only focused on claiming Beijing's first semifinal series in six years.

"No, I don't feel regret. I hope to see more wins. It's a big night for the city but it's a series and it isn't finished yet. Hopefully, we can get it done soon," the 35-year-old said.

Teammate Randolph Morris had a big night too.

The former Atlanta Hawks forward racked up 27 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks to lead the squad inside while allowing Shanxi's prolific big man Charles Gaines only 11 points in the first three quarters. Gaines scored 20 in the fourth period after the game was out of hand.

"You just have to know what kind of thing he does," Morris said. "Charles likes to get the ball and go directly to the basket. If you put more bodies on, he will struggle a little bit. So what we excel at was we always kept more than one body on him. Make him a passer, make him do things he's not comfortable doing. Overall, we did a great job of that."

Meanwhile, Morris said the team learned from previous mistakes and was keen to finish the series on Sunday on the Brave Dragons' court.

"We watched the video, we watched something that we did wrong and we corrected it," Morris said. "We saw the outcome. We made mistakes in Game 1 and we corrected it in game two. Now we're going to watch Game 2 and see if we can do better in the next.

"We can't lose at home in playoffs. It's too vital to get the home court advantage for us. We will try to do the same thing next home game and steal the series on the road."

The Ducks' performance was far from perfect. They failed to stop Shanxi's top scorer Marcus Williams, who scored 45 points, and Beijing grabbed 12 fewer rebounds than the Brave Dragons.

"We will try to fix it in the next game. It's tough and we should make preparations to face a potential game five battle," Min said.