BEIJING - The defending champion Liaoning Flying Leopards moved one step closer to the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) semifinals with a 105-96 win over the short-handed Xinjiang Flying Tigers on Tuesday night, taking a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five series.

Already missing several key players, Xinjiang was dealt another blow when their captain Abdusalam Abdurexit was ruled out due to a neck injury suffered in Game 1. The team also remained without Li Yanzhe, Zhao Rui, Qi Lin, and Sindarius Thornwell, leaving them with five absences.

Liaoning, playing at home, capitalized early with a dominant performance led by Zhang Zhenlin, building a lead that stretched to as many as 23 points.

The young Xinjiang squad refused to fold.

In the fourth quarter, rising stars Xirzat Samat and Elfrat Muhtar sparked a spirited comeback, hitting back-to-back three-pointers to cut the deficit to just three points. However, veteran Kyle Fogg responded with a timely basket for Liaoning, and Xinjiang's offense stalled in the closing minutes.

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Zhang finished with 18 points for Liaoning, while Elfrat led all scorers with 25.