A controversial judging decision in the dying moments helped Xinjiang Guanghui nail a 98-95 victory over defending champions Guangdong Dongguan Bank in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) League finals on Wednesday.
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Xinjiang Guanghui (White) beat Guangdong Dongguan Bank 98-95 in third game of CBA finals.
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With only 12.7 seconds left to go, Guangdong trailed by 95-96 and Wang Shipeng was fouled when attempting to shoot, but referees refused to call it. Then Bateer made two free-throws for XinJiang to seize the victory and made the best-of-seven series 1-2.
Juan Mendez led Xinjiang with a game-high 32 points and 17 rebounds. Myron Allen scored 26 points and was 8-of-8 at the free-throwing line. Bateer had 17 points and four assists to end Guangdong's winning streak of 29 games.
Xinjiang, which reached the CBA finals for the first time, outrebounded their rivals 47-29 and only missed two free-throws.
Wang Shipeng led Guangdong with 25 points while Zhu Fangyu had 14 points, six rebounds and three steals. Guangdong only converted 18 of their 35 free-throws attempts.
Game 4 will still take place at Xinjiang's home court.
