Former NBA superstar Stephon Marbury led the Beijing Ducks to their first-ever Chinese championship Friday, scoring 41 points as the host team knocked off title holders Guangdong Tigers 124-121.
Fellow American Randolph Morris sealed the victory for Beijing, hitting two free throws with 21 seconds left on the clock, while a three pointer by Guangdong's Aaron Brooks was wide of the mark as time expired.
Marbury, the former New York Knick, led a balanced Beijing attack in a physical contest played before a capacity crowd of 18,000 in the capital, with six Ducks scoring in double figures.
In their first-ever Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) championship, the Ducks beat southerners Guangdong, winners of the last four straight league titles, five games to one in the best-of-seven series.
Marbury, who has led Beijing all year with his scoring and play-making, ended up with 41 points on the night for the winners, while Zhai Xiaochuan scored 22, Zhu Yanxi contributed 16 and Morris notched 14.
Guangdong was led by Brooks with 22 points and another American, James Singleton, with 29.
Marbury, a two-time NBA All-Star, has reinvented himself since arriving in China in 2009 following a tumultuous 13-year NBA career that saw supreme talent on the court but often poor off-court behaviour and various spats with coaches and team-mates.
But in China, the multi-millionaire has led by example, taking his gritty, muscular game and infecting a roster of young Beijing players with fight and tenacity.
He has also embraced the culture while working to sell his "Starbury" brand of shoes and sports apparel with a "love is love" marketing campaign.
【新闻快讯】2012年3月30日的夜晚，2011-2012赛季CBA总决赛第五场在北京五棵松打响，北京金隅队在主场以124比121战胜广东宏远，总比分4-1夺得本赛季的总，历史上夺得总。当马布里用41分和7次助攻为自己和球队赢得个总的时候，五棵松体育馆里18000名球迷都在高喊他的名字。
这场比赛，北京队赢得十分艰难———第二节一度落后15分，靠马布里的神奇表现才挽回颓势；在第四节很长一段时间里，北京队都处于落后位置，直到离比赛结束还有4分钟的时候，北京队才以116:114暂时领先。此后比分陷入胶着，20秒，比分还是121:121，让比赛充满了总决赛的味道。20秒，莫里斯罚球，两次罚球都磕磕绊绊地爬进篮筐，123:121。广东队暂停，布置战术，小布打篮下却被莫里斯盖帽。当比赛还剩6秒钟时，陈磊被犯规，获得罚球机会，2罚1中，124:121，这个比分被保持到终场，北京队如愿以偿。
这场比赛，北京队早就做好了夺冠的准备，在赛前，颁奖仪式就已准备好，体育馆的每一个位置都放了一件“我爱北京”的T恤。全场都在为马布里高呼“MVP”。马布里来到中国的年，就一直在说，要夺得总，而这一次他终于梦想成真。
