Yi Jianlian leads Guangdong to second straight win

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01:48

League veteran Yi Jianlian scored 27 points to help Guangdong defeat Beijing 96-87 at home in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) on Sunday. A second straight win in one week maintains the Southern Tigers atop of the standing table.

The visitors had the upper hand while Yi quickly found the state to tie 21-21 for the home side after the first quarter.

Zhu Yanxi and Aaron Jackson scored three-pointers to reverse an 8-point lead for Beijing before Justin Hamilton found the basket en route to a 15-2 run in the second quarter.

Yi Jianlian and Ren Junfei then scored eight points for the host to narrow the gap to three points.

A powerful Yi under the basket forced the Beijing side to call for a time-out, however, Yi continued to dominate, scoring four of his 27 points en route to a 31-14 run and Guangdong led by double digits.

In the final quarter, Hamilton scored two of his 24 points to trim the deficit by eight points. But Guangdong maintained their advantage till the end and won 96-87.

Elsewhere, defending champions Liaoning beat Shandong 120-84 for their 13th straight win. Darius Adams scored 38 points for Xinjiang to overcome Jiangsu 101-99. Fujian lost to Guangsha 116-121 despite Wang Zhelin's 31 points. Jimmer Fredette scored 30 to help Shanghai beat Bayi 103-82. Beikong beat Zhejiang 95-84, and Jilin lost to Tianjin 105-110.