The XNBA rallied from a 13-point deficit at the beginning of the game and a 15-point deficit in the second half to close within a point at 72-71 on a three-point play by Tom Chambers, but China’s Zhang Jinsong hit a three-pointer with one second left for the final margin.

The XNBA was without Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who left the tour after two games to return to the U.S.A. for previously committed lecture appearances. Moses Malone gave China’s big men, Wang Zhizhi and Bateer, all they could handle in the pivot.