MALAYSIA Dragons scored their biggest win of the Asean Basketball League this season with a 97-63 rout of Indonesia Warriors and preserve their unbeaten home record at the Maba Stadium yesterday.
The Dragons had led by as many as 40 points before a late rally by the Warriors trimmed the deficit to 34 points, the highest winning margin for the Dragons this year.
Playing on Merdeka Day, an inspired Loh Shee Fai poured in 19 points, the highest by a Malaysian in 2014, as the Dragons improved to 7-3 overall and 4-0 at home in avenging Friday's 16-point loss in Jakarta.
Justin Knox led the way with 26 points and 15 rebounds while Chris Eversley and Avery Scharer had 21 and 10 points respectively.
Treymane Johnson, who destroyed the Dragons with 30 points on Friday, was limited to 14 for the Warriors this time.
Shee Fai produced his best game of the season so far, shooting five-of-nine from the three-point range.
“This is our game plan and coach (Ariel Vanguardia) asked me to shoot, and when you are open you just shoot," said Shee Fai.
“Thanks to the coach and the team for giving me a lot of confidence.”
Vanguardia said he wants the team to carry their strong home displays all through the season.
“In the last game, we were too relaxed and we forgot what the formula to win was,” he said.
“I’m challenging them to play this way the whole way through and we will be able to withstand any adversity.”
The home team started strong, leading by as many as 21 points in the first quarter, with Eversley and Knox leading the way, combining for 16 points for a 29-10 first-period lead.
Knox was on fire in the second quarter, helping key an 11-0 run which featured a slum dunk, as the Dragons reached half-time 53-25 ahead.
Another Knox slam dunk and Shee Fai's shooting spree helped Dragons to push the lead to 36 points in the third period before easing off towards the end. By Devinder Singh