Jilin hold off Xinjiang in CBA
CGTN
Zhou Qi of Xinjiang reacts dejected after his team's 79-108 defeat to Jilin during the CBA game in Zhuji, east China's Zhejiang Province, October 23, 2020. /CFP

Zhou Qi of Xinjiang reacts dejected after his team's 79-108 defeat to Jilin during the CBA game in Zhuji, east China's Zhejiang Province, October 23, 2020. /CFP

Jilin Northeast Tigers sealed a three-game winning streak over Xinjiang Flying Tigers as Jilin defeated Xinjiang 108-79 during the 2020-21 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) game in Zhuji, east China's Zhejiang Province, on Friday.

Yu Dehao, who handed over four assists in the first quarter, led Xinjiang to open the game with 28-20.

Jilin dominated the second quarter, responding with a 21-4 run to hold an advantage of 41-32.

Zhou Qi of Xinjiang scored inside to give Xinjiang some breathing room before Zhang Biao of Jilin chipped in with four straight points to pull away from their rivals.

In a tight defensive game with numerous physical contests, Jilin led by 16 at the halftime break, limiting Xinjiang to just 42 points.

A player (R) of Xinjiang attempts to dunk the ball during the CBA game in Zhuji, east China's Zhejiang Province, October 23, 2020. /CFP

A player (R) of Xinjiang attempts to dunk the ball during the CBA game in Zhuji, east China's Zhejiang Province, October 23, 2020. /CFP

Xinjiang battled back from the deficit in the third and was within five at 81-76 when the in-form Zhou scored four straight points and Yu added another 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Jilin used a strong 7-0 run early to start the last set, Jiang Weize added a jumper from beyond the arc in the final period to close out the win.

Zhang Biao got 29 points and Jiang Yuxing added 24 for Jilin, which made Zhou's career-high 41 points in vain.

"That's a team win and everybody stepped up, I think we're starting to find our rhythm," said Jilin coach Wang Han.

"As a veteran player, making those shots at key period is pretty impressive," the coach praised Zhang's performance.

"They played harder than we did and we didn't give them enough pressure on defensive ends like before," said Xinjiang coach Adiljan. "We put ourselves in a bad situation after that second quarter run of 31-14."

(With input from Xinhua)