Suwon KT has turned the tide in its best-of-five quarterfinal playoffs away game with a victory.
KT won a big 83-63 away victory over Changwon LG in the second game of the best-of-five quarterfinals PO (best-of-three) of the 2023-2024 Korean Basketball League at Changwon Gymnasium in Changwon, Gyeongnam, on the 18th.
With a 1-1 record, the two teams will shift venues to Suwon KT Arena in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, 스포츠토토존 on Tuesday for Game 3.
LG, who won Game 1 78-70 two nights ago, would have had a 100% chance to become the first team in history to win both Game 1 and Game 2 of the best-of-four PO to advance to the championship game if they had won that game, but KT’s Moon Sung-gon’s three-point shooting fell short.
In the best-of-four PO, teams that have won Game 2 after losing Game 1 have advanced to the championship game 10 out of 21 times (47.6%), making it difficult to predict the direction of their ticket to the championship game.
Leading 40-38 at halftime, KT took control of the game in the third quarter as Moon Sung-gon hit three three-pointers in a row.
Moon opened the scoring with a three-pointer on the first possession of the third quarter, and after LG cut the deficit to 45-41 on a three-pointer by rookie Yoo Yoo-sang, he immediately answered with a three-pointer of his own to make it 48-41. He also hit a three-pointer with about three minutes left in the third quarter to cut the LG lead to 54-51.
KT then pushed its lead to double digits, 62-51, with a basket by Ha Yoon-ki and a three-pointer by Heo Hoon, and Moon Sung-gon hit another three-pointer on the first possession of the fourth quarter, which started at 64-53, to give KT a 14-point lead.
From then on, the weight of victory tilted in KT’s favor, as the gap never got smaller than 10 points in the entire fourth quarter.
LG head coach Cho Sang-hyun brought in his bench with just over four minutes left in the game when the score was 59-77, effectively setting up a third game.
KT made six three-pointers on the night, with Moon Sung-gon hitting five of them alone. Moon, who is known for his strength on defense, finished with 19 points and eight rebounds on the night, tying him with Paris Bass as the team’s top scorer.
KT’s Heo Hoon, who was held to two points in Game 1, slowed down in Game 2 with eight points.
LG shot poorly from the field overall, with only Asem Marei (15 points-12 rebounds) scoring over 10 points, and committed nearly twice as many miscues (17) as KT (9).
