BASKETBALL / New Taipei's basketball team Kings beat DEA 102-86 to force decisive play-in game

Taipei, May 5 (CNA) The New Taipei Kings kept their playoff hopes alive on Tuesday with a 102-86 win over the New Taipei CTBC DEA, forcing a decisive game in their Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) play-in series.

Joseph Lin (林書緯) led the Kings with 23 points, seven rebounds and nine assists without committing a turnover as the defending champions leveled the best-of-three series at one game apiece.

"It's win or go home, and we had no other choice. We had to fight with all our heart and honestly do it for A.D.," Lin said after the game, referring to teammate Austin Daye, who plans to retire after the season.

Under league rules, the top three teams from the regular season advance directly to the playoffs, while the fourth-placed team holds a one-game advantage in a best-of-three play-in series against the fifth-placed team.

Lin, who made four three-pointers, scored 18 of his points in the second half, including 11 in the fourth quarter. His highlight came with 1 minute and 34 seconds remaining, when he hit a floater near midcourt with his right hand, his weaker side.

The Kings led 47-45 at halftime but fell behind by five points late in the third quarter. They responded with a 19-5 run over the next five minutes and maintained control the rest of the way.

Jalen Harris added 23 points for the Kings, while DEA guard Hsieh Ya-hsuan (謝亞軒) scored a game-high 28 points and made five three-pointers.

The Kings shot 48.6 percent from a three-point range, making 17 shots, while the DEA went 9 of 42 from beyond the arc.

The two teams will meet again on Wednesday at Taipei Heping Basketball Stadium, with the winner advancing to face the Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards in a best-of-five first-round series.