The Xinjiang Flying Tigers defeated the Liaoning Flying Leopards 125-105 in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Wednesday, ending their 10-game losing streak against the reigning Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) champions.
Xinjiang built an early 14-7 lead in the first quarter, but the opponents were never too far behind. Zhang Zhenlin knocked down two straight triples to help Liaoning cut their deficit to three points, 23-20. Quentin Peterson made a jumper to try to keep the home team leading in this quarter, but Dez Wells fired from downtown to tie the score 25-25 for the visitors.
Liaoning went through nearly two minutes of scoring drought in the second quarter when Xinjiang began to drain shots behind the arc, sitting on a 45-35 lead. Despite Liaoning's timeout, Peterson remained unstoppable and he continued to cause damage for the opponents by making jumpers. Xinjiang saw their lead grow to 18 points, 65-47, before the halftime break.
Liaoning's rally came early in the third quarter, during which they outscored Xinjiang 32-21. After Wells drew two free throws and made both of them, his side already tied the score 73-73. Qi Lin stepped out for Xinjiang in the final two minutes by making two straight triples, making sure that the home team entered the final quarter with a seven-point lead, 86-79.
Zhao Rui became Xinjiang's biggest hero in the fourth quarter, scoring all 14 of his points. His dominant performance enabled Xinjiang to quickly increase their lead to double digits before continuing to extend it to a level from which Liaoning never came back.
"Although we won the game, I think we still need to know the mistakes we made on the court, so that we can make some targeted choices next time we play against each other," Zhao told CGTN Sports Scene's Liu Jiaqi after the victory.
"This season, under the guidance of Liu Wei, Xinjiang's tough style of play, especially in rebounding, defense and transition, is indeed very unique," Liaoning's head coach Yang Ming said. "It can also be seen that this change has not been made by other teams."