QINGDAO, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Ex-NBA star Tracy McGrady and Chris Daniels combined to lead Qingdao Double Stars to a 135-130 home victory over Shanxi on Tuesday, but they still missed out on a spot in the playoffs of Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) League.
Daniels, an ex-NBDL player, notched game-high 40 points and 21 rebounds. McGrady didn't appear in the starting lineup, but still scored 27 points.
Charles Gaines, the top scorer of last season in CBA, paced Shanxi with 32 points.
"I thought Charles Gaines would play a longer time tonight, so I wanted Daniels, instead of McGrady, to defense him at the beginning," said Zhang Shizhang, coach of Qingdao.
The home team raced to an 8-0 lead before Shanxi managed to tie in the 10th minute.
Shanxi leveled the score again with 33 seconds remaining and the game went to overtime play. Then Daniels scored six points and Li Tao buried a three-pointer to seal the victory for Qingdao.
"Although we had already no chance to reach the playoffs, but our players still tried their best. I am touched for that," said Zhang Shizhang.
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