The Guangsha Lions extended their winning streak to 10 games after a nail-biting 94-91 road victory against the Beijing Ducks in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) on Monday.
Hu Jinqiu (L) of the Guangsha Lions takes a shot against Zhou Qi of the Beijing Ducks in a Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) game in Beijing, China, January 20, 2025. /CBA
The Ducks welcomed back forward Zeng Fanbo and guard Lei Meng from injury. Their returns helped the hosts keep up with the Lions, who are led by a pair of perennial CBA All-Stars, Hu Jinqiu and Sun Minghui. The game was tied at 68-68 going into the fourth quarter.
The decisive moments came in the closing minutes of the final period. Guangsha's Josh Carlton drove to the basket, drew a foul and converted his free throws, while Hu hit a mid-range shot over Zeng. Hu's subsequent attempt was off the mark, however, before Carlton grabbed the offensive rebound for a putback.
Zeng sank a crucial three-pointer to stop the bleeding for Beijing, and despite a strong response in the paint from Hu, the contest remained tight until the final moments.
In the dying seconds, the Ducks committed a costly turnover on an inbounds play, allowing Sun to go to the free throw line, where he made both shots. Fang Shuo later missed back-to-back three-pointers ahead of the final buzzer, and the Lions left the capital with a hard-fought three-point victory.
Zhou Qi led Beijing with 15 points, while Zeng contributed 13 points and four assists.
Hu poured in a game-high 27 points for Guangsha, with Sun adding 16 points and eight assists.
In other action, the Shanghai Sharks thrashed the Sichuan Blue Whales 129-87, snapping a two-game losing skid. Li Hongquan came off the bench to nail five three-pointers on his way to a team-high 26 points. Li Tianrong and Wang Zhelin contributed 12 points apiece for Shanghai, while Marcus Georges-Hunt played 45 minutes and tallied a game-high 34 points to go along with six rebounds and eight assists for Sichuan.
The Jilin Northeast Tigers sank the Fujian Sturgeons 103-92, the Shanxi Loongs defeated the Guangzhou Loong Lions 124-116, the Guangdong Southern Tigers romped past the Nanjing Monkey Kings 112-94, and the Xinjiang Flying Tigers declawed the Qingdao Eagles 103-83.