Beijing Ducks ends Shanghai Sharks' four-game winning streak in CBA

The Beijing Ducks beat the Shanghai Sharks 108-98 at home on Thursday night, ending the opponents' four-game winning streak in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) while securing their own third straight win.

Shanghai played back-to-back and missed their starting center, two-time CBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Wang Zhelin. Beijing's newly-signed American guard Zachary Nutall made his debut for the capital team with 20 points and eight assists.

Home center Zhou Qi showed remarkable aggression on the offensive end from the beginning, drawing two fouls from Kenneth Lofton Jr. Eric Bledso and Li Hongquan combined to three triples for the visitors to lead 24-19, but Nutall stepped up and got six straight points, cutting Beijing's deficit to only one point at 29-28 when the first quarter ended.

Eugene German and Richard Solomon both heated up from downtown in the second quarter for Beijing to launch a 11-0 run that forced the opponents to call a timeout. Shanghai counted on Li Hongquan and Li Tianrong to return the favor, but were still outscored by the hosts 33-23 in this quarter and trailed by nine points at 61-52 in the first half.

Solomon and German both added another triple as the third quarter began when Beijing were looking at an advantage of 14 points at maximum, 75-61. However, then Shanghai drove a 13-2 run thanks to the efforts by Bledsoe, Liu Zheng and Li hongquan, trailing only 78-76 when the quarter ended.

Bledsoe and Li Tianrong combined to knock down three shots behind the arc as the fourth quarter began. By contrast, Zhou joined hands with Zeng Fanbo and Zhai Xiaochuan to continuously charge Shanghai's paint. Zhai and Zhou also set up a no-fly-zone around their own rim, denying attempts of Lofton Jr. and Bledsoe. Nutall made Beijing's final field goal with a layup that sealed their win 108-98.