Marshon Brooks scored 27 points as defending champion Guangdong overcame Liaoning 107-98 in the opening game of 2019-2010 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league on Friday.

Ren Junfei added 19 points while last season's MVP Yi Jianlian contributed 16 points and 12 rebounds for the home team.

Lance Stephenson had a game-high 34 points and Brandon Bass added 20 for Liaoning.

Guangdong led 82-68 into the last quarter, only to see Liaoning stormed to a 13-3 run to trim the deficit to only four points. Xu Jie and Yi combined to score four points and Guangdong held their advantage to the final whistle.

Earlier in the game, the two teams seesawed and Guangdong led 23-22 into the second quarter.

Liaoning railed to a 13-6 spurt to take the lead, however, Sonny Weems and Brooks combined a 14-2 run and retake the lead for Guangdong.

The home side led 50-47 into the halftime break. The defending champion increased the advantage to double digits thanks to a 14-4 run at the end of third quarter.

(Cover: Guo Ailun (L) of Guangdong and Xu Jie (R) of Liaoning in action during the CBA opener, Dongguan, Guangdong Province, China, November 1, 2019. /VCG Photo)