Emmett outshines Marbury with record 71 pts in China

BEIJING, (Reuters) – Former NBA guard Andre Emmett scored 71 points for Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) team  Shandong at the weekend, setting a new individual scoring  record for the league.

The former Texas Tech standout came off the bench to shoot  28-of-34 from inside the paint, land three of 11 three-point  attempts and sink all six of his free throws.

His record haul beat the previous best of 70 scored by Sun  Jun for the Jilin Northeast Tigers in 2000, while the 129-113  win over the Jiangsu Dragons helped keep alive Shandong’s hopes  of a CBA playoff spot.

Emmett, 27, was drafted by the Seattle Supersonics in 2004  and later played eight games for the Memphis Grizzlies before  moving on to play in Lithuania, Belgium, France and then China.

The 71 points boosted his average to 32.4 points a game,  putting him at the top of a CBA scoring list dominated by Americans.

The highest profile import, twice NBA All-Star point guard  Stephon Marbury, had a less successful weekend, missing two  late free throws as his Shanxi team lost 89-88 to army team  Bayi.

The former New Jersey, Phoenix, New York Knicks and Boston  player, nicknamed ‘Starbury’, moved to China in January but has  failed to lift his team into playoff contention.