When former NBA player Jeremy Lin announced he was signing with the New Taipei Kings, he said one of his goals was to finish first in the P.League+ this season.
So far, the Kings are looking very much capable of achieving that.
They remained undefeated on Sunday after notching their third straight P.League+ victory of the season, a 123-113 home win over the Taoyuan Pilots.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Even better for the Kings, they proved that their roster is good enough to win games when the Lin brothers are not at their best or unavailable.
Jeremy Lin made five of 15 shots from the floor en route to a season-low 17 points, while his brother Joseph Lin was sidelined with an ankle injury sustained during Saturday’s win over the Hsinchu JKO Lioneers.
However, Byron Mullens, with 31 points and 13 rebounds, and Lee Kai-yan, with 20 points and seven assists, picked up the slack with their best performances of the season.
The Kings trailed the Pilots for most of the first half, but remained close on their heels and were down only 62-59 at halftime. The Kings went ahead at the start of the third quarter and held onto the lead for most of the second half.
The Pilots had a chance to reduce the margin to one possession with just more than one minute to go when guard Li Chia-kang was sent to the free-throw line for two shots with the Kings up 118-113.
However, Li missed both shots, and Lee sank his fifth and last three of the night with 54.5 seconds remaining to secure the game.
“Winning three consecutive games is actually just a small goal for us, and I hope we can keep winning and even challenge the league’s winning streak record,” Lee said.
He said that Mullens had undergone some wear and tear and is still adjusting after returning to the Kings this off-season, but he looked forward to the American’s full recovery to ensure the team gets even stronger.
Sunday’s game was the Pilots’ season opener.
Commentator Hu Chun-chi said the addition of Anthony Tucker and other changes had breathed new life into the team compared with what he had seen in the pre-season.
If the Pilots could fix some of the small flaws seen in the second half of their game against the Kings, they could have a good year, he said.
Tucker went six for 10 from behind the arc for a team-high 26 points, and registered six rebounds and eight assists, while Li added 14 points and four assists.
OFFENSE SHINES: First baseman Pan Chie-kai hit a solo homer in the fifth inning as all 10 batters Taiwan used contributed at least one hit toward their team total of 14 One day after their first shutout loss at the WBSC Premier12, Taiwan yesterday bounced back with a commanding 8-2 victory over the US, keeping their hopes for a spot in tomorrow’s final alive. The win in the Super Round marked Taiwan’s first triumph over the US at a top-tier international baseball tournament since 2003. Their previous win over the US was at the 2003 Baseball World Cup, with only one win in the previous 10 matchups since 1999. Yesterday’s game was tightly contested through the first six innings, with the margin never exceeding two runs. However, the tide turned in the top of
“Please love us. Please cheer us on. We have been working hard. Do not give up on us.” Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien’s heartfelt plea echoed across the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 tournament after a historic victory. Rather than boasting, Chen was making an earnest appeal after leading Taiwan to a 4-0 victory over Japan to claim their first major international baseball title at the senior level. Chen’s decisive three-run homer in the fifth inning and his Premier12 leading .632 batting average secured him the Premier12’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) title. He was also named one of the tournament’s outstanding defensive players
WELL-AGED: Although the youngest team in the tournament, Taiwan featured several veteran stars, including Sunday’s home-run hero Chen Chieh-hsien “I will never forget today,” veteran Taiwanese pitcher Chen Kuan-yu said after Taiwan on Sunday night blanked Japan to secure their first ever gold in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 championship. Chen, who at 34 is the oldest member on the team, said Taiwan “made every difficult step to come to today’s victory. I will never forget today.” Taiwan made history when they won their first gold medal of the Premier12 tournament, beating Japan in a 4-0 shutout victory in the final at the Tokyo Dome. It was a jaw-dropping victory for many baseball commentators who went into the game with
Nikola Jokic on Saturday scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to spark the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102, continuing their dominance of the NBA rivalry, while Scotty Pippen Jr scored a career-best 30 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the Chicago Bulls, 142-131. The Nuggets won for the 13th time in the past 14 contests against the Lakers, including ousting the Lakers in the playoffs the past two seasons. Serbian star Jokic failed to achieve his sixth consecutive triple-double, managing only eight assists, but his effort was plenty as Michael Porter Jr added 24 points and 11
RSS