Jiangsu Dragons beat Tianjin Pioneers to end six-game losing streak

The Jiangsu Dragons defeated the Tianjin Pioneers 99-93 in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, on Tuesday, putting an end to their six-game losing streak in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

Jiangsu made a good start as James Thompson dominated the paint for the home team to lead 21-10 half into the first quarter. However, Lin Ting-Chien knocked down four triples in this quarter alone for Tianjin to drive a 17-5 run and gain the lead. Thompson and Li Chengyao combined to contribute seven points in the final minute to make sure that the Dragons finished as the leading side at 30-27.

The battle remained close in the second quarter Thompson and Franklin Jackson were the main sources of Jiangsu's firepower while Lin, Zheng Haoran and Marcus LoVett Jr. all scored double-digit points for Tianjin in the first half for the visitors to trail by only one point at 52-51 when the quarter ended.

The Pioneers saw their offensive consistency snap first half into the third quarter. After Lin made a jumper to tie the score 66-66, his side made only one field goal (FG) which was a layup by Zheng. They were outscored 11-2 by the opponents and had to begin the final quarter with a nine-point deficit at 77-68.

The Dragons continued to see more and more on their rotations make shots to increase their lead to 14 points at maximum. Zheng and Lin combined to drain three straight triples for the Pioneers in the final 30 seconds, but their efforts could stop the team from suffering their 24th loss of the season.

In the other game on the night, the Shandong Hi-Speed Kirin beat Ningbo Rockets 112-102 in Jinan, east China's Shandong Province, extending the opponents' losing streak to 10 games.

The home team were sitting on a comfortable lead early in the game and increased their advantage to 25 points at most at 63-38 before the end of the first half. Ningbo's American guard Ronald March carried the team's offense nearly all by himself by dropping season-high 60 points after shooting 7-for-18 from downtown and 13-for-19 at the free throw line. Nonetheless, they were never close enough to coming back from behind.

The victory enabled Shandong to rise to No. 2 in the league, behind only the Guangsha Lions.