《TAIPEI TIMES》 Efevberha, Howard help Leopards extend streak
![The Taoyuan Leopards’ Dwight Howard warms up before their T1 Leauge game against the Taiwan Beer Herobears in New Taipei City yesterday.
Photo: CNA The Taoyuan Leopards’ Dwight Howard warms up before their T1 Leauge game against the Taiwan Beer Herobears in New Taipei City yesterday.
Photo: CNA](https://img.ltn.com.tw/Upload/news/600/2023/02/19/phpUQx7ev.jpg)
The Taoyuan Leopards’ Dwight Howard warms up before their T1 Leauge game against the Taiwan Beer Herobears in New Taipei City yesterday. Photo: CNA
/ Staff writer, with CNA
Michael Efevberha and Dwight Howard last night extended the Taoyuan Leopards’ winning streak to three games as they defeated the Taiwan Beer Herobears 120-108 in New Taipei City.
Nigerian-American guard Efevberha scored 36 points in more than 38 minutes on the court, while former NBA star Howard put up 28 points.
The win was not enough to move the needle for the team, who remain at the bottom of the six-team T1 League with a 4-11 record.
The Herobears, who had snapped a four-game losing streak on Saturday, remain at fourth.
Herobears captain Chiang Yu-an led the team in scoring with 27 points, while guard Huang Tsung-han put 20 points on the board.
Earlier yesterday, the Tainan TSG Ghosthawks overpowered the Taichung Suns 135-104 in Tainan.
On Saturday, the Herobears beat the Kaohsiung Aquas 78-74 in Taipei, extending the defending champions’ loss run to three games.
With the defeat, which followed back-to-back home losses last weekend, the Aquas fell to 11-8, putting them second behind the New Taipei CTBC DEA (12-14) in the standings.
On Saturday, Chiang led all scorers with 16 points, while Aquas center John Bohannon and small forward Kevin Hu had 13 points each.
At a post-game news conference, Kaohsiung head coach Brendan Joyce said the team made too many unforced turnovers.
“It’s not the greatest basketball game when you look at the stats. There’s just way too many turnovers on both teams,” Joyce said.
The Aquas had 27 turnovers and 32 personal fouls, while the Herobears had 24 turnovers and 27 fouls.
Kaohsiung racked up four fouls in the first few minutes, before collecting themselves and pulling into a 24-15 lead to close out the first quarter.
The Herobears rallied early in the second quarter, edging in front 30-29 on a play by forward Branden Dawson, and extending their lead 43-38 by the end of the first half.
The Herobears briefly extended their lead by eight points, before the Aquas narrowed it to 61-57 at the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the teams stepped up their defense, with the Aquas taking a temporary 73-71 lead with 1 minute, 34 seconds remaining, before a series of missed shots allowed the Herobears to retake the lead and win by four points.
In the P.League+ yesterday, the Taipei Fubon Braves bested the Taoyuan Pilots 86-84 in Taipei, while the New Taipei Kings dominated the Hsinchu JKO Lioneers 102-85 in Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City.
On Saturday, the Formosa Taishin Dreamers outhustled the visiting Kaohsiung Steelers 102-91 in Taichung.
Former NBA sensation Jeremy Lin posted a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Steelers.
The Dreamers are fifth in the six-team league rankings, with a 9-13 record, while the New Taipei Kings are first at 15-5. The Steelers remain in last place at 3-18.
新聞來源:TAIPEI TIMES