In the ongoing quarter-finals of the CBA playoffs, defending champions Liaoning Flying Leopards defeated the Fujian Sturgeons 124-118 at home on Tuesday in the first game in the best-of-five series. 

The contest saw a clash between home favorite Guo Ailun and the newly crowned domestic MVP Wang Zhelin as 25-year-old Guo eventually proving to be the difference with a career-best performance of 46 points. 

Liaoning's coach Guo Shiqiang is full of praise for Guo Ailun's difference maker of the night, "I have seen the improvement in Guo Ailun this season in all aspects, including mentality, quality and experience. I hope he can keep it going." 

Earlier, the 25-year-old Wang kept scoring steadily in the first quarter, nailing nine out of 13 points for Fujian in the opening period of the game. The MVP went on to have a team-high of 31 points for his side.

But Liaoning's Guo was on fire during the game and the point guard had 14 in the first quarter. 

Lester Hudson then followed up while Brandon Bass also made his mark as Liaoning held a 12-point lead going into the second quarter. 

It was a see-saw battle until the fourth with the two sides being tied at 100. Subsequently, Wang made a three-point play to help Fujian lead by three before Hudson missed the three. However, Li Xiaoxu was there for the rebound as Liaoning cut the deficit to a single point.

Guo's next shot was awarded free throws and he made one which was enough to help Liaoning tie the score again at 103. The game moved into first overtime as both sides went basket for basket during the first extra session. With 17 seconds remaining, Fujian's Huang Yichao drilled a three-pointer from the corner just before the buzzer. The score was 115-115 as the humdinger game went into the second overtime. 

Eventually, it was Guo who finally ended the game by scoring in the last seconds as he calmly drove in and made the game-killing layup.