JINAN, March 12 (Xinhua) -- After a one-month break, the Chinese Basketball Association regular season resumed this week. The Xinjiang Flying Tigers staged a second-half comeback to edge out Guangdong Southern Tigers 82-80 on Wednesday, while the Shandong Heroes beat the Jiangsu Dragons 113-104.
Xinjiang pulled off a narrow victory over league-leading Guangdong on their home court, erasing an 18-point deficit in spite of the absence of multiple key players.
"We were too passive in the first half, allowing them to control the pace and acquired easy shots," Xinjiang head coach Goran Bjedov said. "At halftime, we emphasized speeding up transition and tightening defense. We fought until the last second. I am proud of our young players."
Xinjiang's Dedric Lawson notched a near triple-double with 19 points, 18 rebounds and 8 assists, while Abudushalamu and Feng Ao each added 11 points.
Jiangsu extended their advantage to 14 points in the second quarter before Shandong carried out a fierce comeback. Shandong outscored Jiangsu 35-21 in the second quarter, flipping the score to 60-54 at halftime, fueled by Marquese Chriss' free-throws and Chen Linjian's scoring from beyond the arc.
The fourth quarter saw Jiangsu pull within 5 points, but Shandong stayed concentrated, as Purcell and Guo Kai sealed the win with late free throws.
Purcell became the star of the game for Shandong, finishing a game-high 37 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists, while Chriss recorded a double-double with 29 points and 10 rebounds.
In other games, the Zhejiang Lions routed the Nanjing Monkey Kings 113-80, the Tianjin Pioneers edged out the Zhejiang Golden Bulls 102-95, the Shanxi Loongs emerged victorious 85-74 against the Jilin Northeast Tigers, the Shanghai Sharks beat the Beijing Royal Fighters 106-92, the Liaoning Flying Leopards defeated the Shenzhen Leopards 96-88 and the Beijing Ducks smashed the Sichuan Blue Whales 88-55.
In the last two games of this round on Thursday, the Ningbo Rockets clinched victory over the Guangzhou Loong Lions 84-83, while the Qingdao Eagles beat the Fujian Sturgeons 114-84. ■
