Guangsha Lions crush Liaoning Flying Leopards for fourth win in a row

Defending CBA champions the Guangsha Lions cruised past the Liaoning Flying Leopards 96-64 at home in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, on Thursday, clinching their fourth consecutive win.

Guangsha built a 23-17 advantage in the first quarter and continued to extend that edge, leading in each of the following three periods. Barry Brown scored a game-high 26 points for the Lions, while four of his teammates reached double digits as well. Both Sun Minghui and Lin Bing Sheng had three steals, earning multiple fast-break chances for the hosts.

"Defense was our foundation in this game," Guangsha coach Wang Bo said. "We executed our game plan with full focus and preparation, and it showed on the scoreboard, as we held Liaoning to less than 20 points in three of the four quarters. Our effort was consistent across the lineup, and even the rotations stuck to the defensive schemes we prepared. Of course, there are always some weakness we need to improve, and we will look to build on this performance in every game."

Liaoning failed to reach 20 points in three of the four quarters, missing 44 of 66 total field goal attempts. Committing 17 turnovers also resulted in a lack of offensive consistency for the Flying Leopards. Only two of the visiting team's players, Fu Hao in the starting lineup and Jaylon Brown off the bench, scored in double figures.

Guangsha improved to 5-1 after the victory while the defeat dropped Liaoning to 4-2.

The Shanghai Sharks bagged their fourth win of the season after beating the Jiangsu Dragons 84-68 at home. Li Hongquan contributed a team-high 18 points for the hosts after drilling five three-pointers. Brandon Goodwin, Kenneth Lofton Jr. and Kyle Fogg scored in double digits as well.

While Shanghai improved to 4-2, Jiangsu didn't reach 20 points in any of the four quarters, continuing a slow start to the season at 1-5.