The battle for the last place in the playoffs went into a white-hot situation, and in a life-and-death battle, Tianjin defeated Beikong 115-93.
In the last game, Guangdong was won with a substitute lineup, and Beijing Control received a windfall. But Tianjin has been resting for four days, and the rest is more adequate. Previously, Marbury had watched the last game in Tianjin on the sidelines, and the main players of the North Control Rotation had returned in this game.
After the opening, Beikong did not feel good, and Tianjin quickly entered the state. Although Beikong gave Tianjin two ball-carrying defenders strong pressure in defense, Mengzikai's frequent firing from the outside opened the situation for Tianjin. Meng Zikai hit 3 consecutive three-pointers, and he alone handled 13 points in the first 17 points of the Tianjin team.
Mengzikai's fiery feel blew the horn of Tianjin's onslaught, and Tianjin led by nearly 10 points in the first quarter. The whole game of North Control was struggling to catch up, and in the end it was still a lack of skill, and the life and death battle suffered a fiasco.
In the 34 minutes of his 34-minute victory, he shot 3 of 5 from 2-point range, 4-of-8 from three-point range, scored 20 points, and 12 rebounds to set a career-high single-game rebound, while delivering the most four assists in a single game of the season.
Not only this game, in the recent four-game winning streak in Tianjin, Mengzikai played a leadership performance. After consecutive victories over several playoff rivals in Shandong, Xinjiang, Guangzhou and Beijing Control, MengZikai hit 14 three-pointers in four games, shooting a terrifying 51.9%. In those four games, he averaged 17.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.3 blocks per game.
MengZikai has a height of 205cm, and his soft feel on the outside is just like Zhu Yanxi, Marbury's right-hand man at that time. The difference is that Mengzikai has better bounce and basket impact.
This season, Mengzikai's outside shooting rate is as high as 43%, and what is even more terrifying is that his free throw shooting rate has reached 91%. In the past 21 games, Mengzikai has hit all 46 free throws. The last time Meng Zikai lost at the free throw line was on November 11 last year, when the first stage of the regular season was played between Tianjin and Shenzhen. In the past four months, Mengzikai has not conceded a single goal.
This season, Mengzikai averaged 25.8 minutes per game and could contribute 12.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 blocks, all of which are career-best. After winning 20+ in two consecutive games, he became the most relied on scoring points for head coach Zhang Degui.
Mengzikai's accurate shooting skills made Marbury despair, and his continuous fiery performance also made Tianjin hope for counterattack in a desperate situation.