BEIJING, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The Jiangsu Dragons snapped the Sichuan Blue Whales' winning streak 92-77, while the Shenzhen Leopards cruised past the Shanghai Sharks 121-111 in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league on Monday.
Liu Zhixuan opened the scoring with a three-pointer for Jiangsu, heralding an 11-0 run as the first quarter started. Sichuan's Wang Xinkai retaliated with accurate three-pointers and cut the deficit to five points before the second quarter. The mobilized Blue Whales then intensified their offensive plays, taking a 46-42 lead by halftime.
However, in the third quarter, Sichuan lost their grip on the game as Jiangsu sent on Cui Xiaolong and Alpha Kaba. The Dragons soon piled up a six-point advantage and shattered Sichuan's defense. The shocked Sichuan players started missing their shots, with Jiangsu's Cui and Tao Yanru cutting scores from every corner. Crumbling under pressure and exhaustion, Sichuan handed Jiangsu a landslide victory and ended their two-game winning streak.
Cui scored 19 points for Jiangsu, with Alpha Kaba scoring a double-double of 15 points and 26 rebounds. For Sichuan, Chris Obekpa pocketed 15 points and 12 rebounds, followed by 11 from Hu Junlin and 10 from Venkatesh Joyce.
Elsewhere, the Shenzhen Leopards unleashed a flurry of shots at the Shanghai Sharks and led the first half of the game by eight points. Spearheaded by accurate shots from Jared Sullinger and Lu Pengyu, the Leopards crushed the Sharks' morale and saw out their win. ■
