Beijing beats Liaoning to defend CBA title   

北京男籃客場勝遼寧 四年第三度奪CBA總冠軍

Beijing team celebrates after beats Liaoning 106-98 in Game 6 in Benxi on Sunday for an overall 4-2 victory in the best-of-seven finals and defends the title of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). (Photo/Xinhua )

Beijing defended the title of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) by beating Liaoning 106-98 in Game 6 here on Sunday for an overall 4-2 victory in the best-of-seven finals.

Only Bayi and Guangdong had attained the Beijing feat by retaining the title in CBA history.

Meanwhile, it's also the third time for Beijing to claim the championship in the past four years.

Stephon Marbury, who finished with 24 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds,got his first-ever Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in CBA finals. The 38-year-old veteran had 29.7 points per game in the series.

"Stephon deserves what he had, he is irreplaceable. I hope he can continue play like this next season," Beijing's coach Min Lulei said.

Zhai Xiaochuan was the key player in Beijing's victory by hitting five baskets beyond the arc and finished with a game-high 27 points. Randolph Morris scored 19 points.

Liaoning's top scorer Lester Hudson had 27 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. He Tianju added 21 points with four 3-pointers. Guo Ailun and Han Dejun contributed 15 and 12 points respectively.

Liaoning reached the CBA finals five times but never won the crown.

Liaoning shot out to a quick 8-point lead, but Li Gen scored seven straight points to bring Beijing back 24-23 in the first quarter. Liaoning made 10 turnovers in the quarter.

The second quarter was a tight game. Liaoning tied the score 50-50 by Li Xiaoxu's tip-in, before Zhai buried a 3-pointer to keep Beijing's lead 53-50 at the half.

Zhai kept his hot hand after the break with two straight 3-pointers, which made Beijing hold a 10-point lead for the first time in the match. And Liaoning could never catch up from this turning point.