XI'AN, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- He Xining bagged his personal best 43 points of the season, but his Shenzhen Leopards failed to take their sixth win in a row after suffering an 101-92 defeat against the Shanghai Sharks in the ongoing 2025-26 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league on Friday.
He Xining bagged 12 points, helping Shenzhen take a 27-23 lead in the first quarter.
In the midway of the second quarter, Xie Liyongwei and Hassan Whiteside brought Shanghai an 11-2 pointing dash, making the home team lead by five points.
However, when He Xining returned to the court, the 29-years-old made the game enter seesaw session. Before the half break, Shanghai came back from two points behind to tie Shenzhen 51-51 by Xie's jumper buzzer.
Whiteside and Kenneth Lofton Jr. organized a solid defense system, only letting Shenzhen pocket six points in the five minutes before the final quarter. Shenzhen trailed by 76-68 after three quarters.
Under Whiteside's lead, Shanghai built double digits advantages at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
He Xining kept chasing through his symbolic three-pointers and layups, leveling up when two minutes and 54 seconds remaining on the clock.
When Shenzhen almost took over the game, Shanghai's head coach Lu Wei put Whiteside on the court again. Liu Cheng fired beyond the arc and brought the home team a 94-92 lead.
Although Whiteside missed a free throw then, Shanghai basketballers kept grabbing the offense rebounds before Zhang Zhenlin contributing a dunk, which made the game beyond his rivals' reach.
Whiteside finished a double-double with 24 points and 18 rebounds. Lofton added 20 points, plus 10 rebounds.
Also on Friday, Reginald Perry scored 20 points as the Beijing Royal Fighters edged the Qingdao Eagles 69-64, the Nanjing Monkey Kings routed the Sichuan Blue Whales 104-72.
In the other 21st round regular games played on Wednesday and Thursday, the Guangdong Southern Tigers beat the Jilin Northeast Tigers 89-81, the Tianjin Pioneers smashed the Beijing Ducks 93-78, the Ningbo Rockets won over the Liaoning Flying Leopards 75-62, the Fujian Sturgeons saw off the Guangzhou Loong Lions 92-85, the Jiangsu Dragons overwhelmed the Xinjiang Flying Tigers 88-68, the Zhejiang Golden Bulls defeated the Shanxi Loongs 87-70, the defending champion Zhejiang Lions prevailed the Shandong Heroes 86-77. ■
