Issac Haas (second left) of Beijing Royal Fighters competes during the 8th round match between Beijing Royal Fighters and Zhejiang Lions at the 2021-2022 season of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league in Zhuji, east China's Zhejiang province, Nov 3, 2021. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
ZHUJI, China - Two overwhelming victories took place simultaneously in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) here on Wednesday, in which the Zhejiang Lions defeated the Beijing Royal Fighters 101-74, while the Shanghai Sharks eased past the Qingdao Eagles 121-88.
Zhao Yanhao grabbed a game-high 25 points for Zhejiang, and his teammates Hu Jinqiu and Sun Minghui both added 17 points. Beijing's Zhang Fan pocketed 14 points.
Sun Minghui played a decisive role for Zhejiang Lions in the third quarter by notching 12 points to help his team enter the final period 74-62. Though Stephon Marbury put the best lineup on the court, Zhejiang locked their win with continuous 3-pointer success
The first quarter was a seesaw battle, but Beijing had a better performance outside the paint as forward Yu Changdong contributed two 3-pointers. While trailing 26-25, Zhejiang established a 42-36 advantage before the interval due to their greater free throw attempts.
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Sun played a decisive role for Zhejiang in the third quarter by notching 12 points to help his team enter the final period 74-62. Though Stephon Marbury put the best lineup on the court, Zhejiang locked their win with continuous 3-pointer success.
Elsewhere, Shanghai put much pressure on Qingdao at the very beginning by delivering an 11-0 run in the first six minutes. Qingdao strengthened their defense to cut the deficit into 10 points, but Jamaal Franklin injected momentum to Shanghai, regaining double-digit edge for Shanghai.
Shanghai did not leave any opportunity to Qingdao after the break since they soon enlarged the gap to 20 points. Thanks to Wang Zhelin and Luo Hanchen's high shooting accuracy under the basket, the gap soon surged to 91-58, forcing Qingdao to completely give up.
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Li Tianrong demonstrated himself with 26 points, followed by Franklin's 18 points and five rebounds. Wang added 14 points.