Posted February. 10, 2005 22:44,
The SK Knights jumped to the fifth spot in the Korean Basketball League standings with a win over the league-leading TG Sambo Xers. SK beat TG by 69-60 in Seoul on Thursday and improved to 21-20 on the year, sharing the No. 5 spot with the SBS Stars. The Knights now need just one game to tie the fourth-place Dong Yang Orions (22-19). The competition for a playoff berth is heated as the game gap between SK and the seventh-place Samsung Thunders is just one, and the gap between SK and eighth-place Mobis (19-23) is just 2.5. TG is still leading the league with 29-13 record, but game gap between it and second-place KTF (26-15) is now 2.5 games.
TG upset the game to 41-43 in the third quarter with a three-pointer from Yang Gyung-min, followed by a layup from Kim Joo-sung. But SK center Chris Lang capitalized on TG center Jamal Watkins` foul trouble and dominated inside to tie the game. TG defenders concentrated on Chris Lang, allowing Hwang Jin-won and Jeon Hee-chul to play loose and drained three-pointers, followed by Kevin Freeman`s two free throws, to extend the gap to 51-43. Lang had a strong performance with 24 points and four blocks.
In Changwon, the LG Sakers` seven-game losing kid ended with a 72-68 win over Ulsan Mobis. Despite the absence of injured leading scorer Desmond Penny, the Sakers managed to win the game behind strong performances by Jerald Honeycutt (23 points) and Kim Yeong-man(18 points).