Club official defends Marbury

 　　BEIJING, March 13 (Xinhua) -- A Beijing Ducks official has defended Stephon Marbury amid allegations that the former NBA star had hit a fan after the team's narrow loss in Sunday's Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league game.

　　"None of my players and coaches saw Marbury hit someone when we exited the stadium," Beijing Ducks' deputy general manager Yuan Chao told Xinhua on Monday night.

　　"Surrounded by two guards, his translator and trainers, he didn't have time or space to throw a punch, not to mention kick someone."

　　Marbury, who scored 25 points in Beijing's 102-100 away loss to Shanxi, was accused of beating up a fan in the brawl¹ that followed Game Four of the playoff series.

　　The series is now leveled at 2-2 with the deciding game scheduled for Wednesday in Beijing.

　　Chinese basketball fans were split over the incident, posting abusive language against each other on their Twitter-like Weibo accounts or Internet chatrooms.

　　Shanxi police said in a report on Monday said Marbury hit a university student named Cao Lei in the head with the water bottle and then kicked the jaw² of the fallen fan with his right foot.

　　In Monday's interview with Beijing television BTV, Marbury denied hitting Cao, saying those who accused him of assault "must have a wild imagination".

　　The last minutes of Monday's semifinal game was interrupted for several minutes as Shanxi supporters threw debris³ and water bottles onto the court, causing the Beijing Ducks players to huddle⁴ around mid-court.

　　"I would never kick or punch a fan," said Marbury on Weibo. "That's not my character."

　　It took the Beijing team over an hour to leave the stadium as Shanxi fans crowded the team bus and shouted obscenities.

　　"They threw stones and other debris at the bus, breaking the front window," Yuan recalled. "We were scared when they pushed and rocked the bus. We left the stadium over one hour after we called the police."

1 brawl   

n.大声争吵，喧嚷；v.吵架，对骂

参考例句：

• They had nothing better to do than brawl in the street.他们除了在街上斗殴做不出什么好事。
• I don't want to see our two neighbours engaged in a brawl.我不希望我们两家吵架吵得不可开交。

2 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

3 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

4 huddle   

vi.挤作一团；蜷缩；vt.聚集；n.挤在一起的人

参考例句：

• They like living in a huddle.他们喜欢杂居在一起。
• The cold wind made the boy huddle inside his coat.寒风使这个男孩卷缩在他的外衣里。