(Sports Focus) Liaoning loses in CBA Game 4 after brawls with fans

Hosts Sichuan beat Liaoning 96-87 here on Friday to build up a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series with one win away from winning their historic first-ever CBA Championship.

Liaoning team were obviously still recovering from Wednesday's brawls with Sichuan fans. After losing Game 3 104-109, Liaoning were involved in a mass brawl with Sichuan fans. Chinese national team guard Guo Ailun and teammates were seen to have exchanged punches with Sichuan fans.

Guo and teammate He Tianju's fathers were reportedly confronted by some unruly Sichuan fans at the lobby of Liaoning team hotel, which caused the mass brawl.

"It could not be a problem however you cursed me or provoked me. As I chose this profession, what I should have done is to endure that kind of things," said Guo Ailun on his twitter-like Weibo later. "But if my family was involved, I needed to protect them. This was an instinctive reaction for me as a son. I did not need to give it a second thought."

Liaoning's Han Dejun almost lost his calmness during Friday's match. After receiving his fourth personal foul in the opening of the second half, the center just couldn't stop challenging the referee, which brought him nothing but a technical foul. The fifth foul limited his time to play. Han also missed several scoring chances as he shot the ball just too hard.

Guo Ailun, He Tianju and Liu Zhixuan returned Thursday to Shenyang, capital of Liaoning, and were sent to undergo medical check, which showed that He's right hand was fractured. All three players took an early flight on Friday morning to Chengdu.

Guo didn't seem to be affected by the long journey as he took a second team-high 18 points. He also dished out six assists. But his teammates had trouble in both offence and defence.

"It is not an easy match for us. All players were under great pressure," said Guo Shiqiang, Liaoning's head coach. "But they played like fighters. We will do our best to defend our spirit and try to bring the series back to Liaoning, no matter how difficult it will be."

Sichuan club was fined 150,000 yuan on Friday by the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) for being unable to ensure away team's safety. Suspension to Liaoning players is very likely to be announced after Sichuan police publicize their investigation.

"Actually our team had nothing to do with that brawl. So I told my players just to focus on the game," said Sichuan coach Yang Xuezeng. "We played with patience. And all players, not only the foreign players, had a part in tonight's victory."

Lester Hudson led Liaoning with 31 while Hamed Haddadi, Mike Harris and Justin Dentmon combined for 58 in Sichuan's 96.

The fifth match will be played in Chengdu on Sunday. Endi