The third seeded Xinjiang Flying Tigers beat the number two, Liaoning Flying Leopards, 109-100 to grab a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) semi-final series on Thursday. 

Jarnell Stokes led the way with a double double as the visitors took two wins from the defending champions on their home floor.

Liaoning took an 8-5 lead early in the first quarter, thanks to one of He Tianju's five three pointers. Guo Ailun later drove to the rack for two of his 18 points and the cushion was three. Xinjiang then misfired on the other end as Kay Felder's floater was short. Guo came away with the loose ball and started a fast break that ended with him dishing to Li Xiaoxu for a one-handed slam dunk, increasing the margin to five.

The visitors were not crisp in the early stages as Li Gen lost his footing. When he got the ball back, the man who won two titles with Beijing in 2014 and 2015 hit nothing but air. Subsequently, Liaoning's Li showed him how to do it with his only triple of the game before Zhao Jiwei found him for the hoop and the harm, en route to 14. But the 2017 CBA champions tried to battle back shortly before half-time, with Felder setting up Yu Changdong for the powerful jam.

Xinjiang kept pushing after the break and two of Felder's 28 cut the deficit to four. But Stokes continued to show his range and two more of his 27 helped his side close the gap. Subsequently, Felder's only trey of the evening put the Flying Tigers in front as the visitors seized the momentum.

The Flying Leopards stayed within striking distance as three of He's 16 points sliced the arrears to two late in the third quarter. Kyranbek Makhan's jumper was no good in the fourth, but Stokes handed off to Fan Ziming for a hook shot, extending Xinjiang's lead by six.

Felder then made sure the Flying Tigers stay in control as they went on to win by nine, and take a 2-0 series lead back to Urumqi, where Game Three is set for Sunday.  

Xijiang coach Adiljan Suleyman said after the match, "I think Liaoning is a team worthy of respect. Even though they lost Game One, they came out ready to attack, especially in the first two quarters. I think their shooting percentage in the first two quarters was very high, and I think that is what a strong team needs to display at times like this."

Meanwhile, his Liaoning counterpart, Guo Shiqiang mentioned, "We did a very good job in the first half, especially when defending the opposing team's fast-breaks, but we did not perform well in the second half. Our opponents played at a very quick pace, and they scored on their fast-breaks. We lacked patience on defense in the second half, so we lost the game."