Defending champions Guangdong Southern Tigers trounced the Shanghai Sharks 122-89 here on Friday, extending their winning streak to 23 games in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

The Southern Tigers seized a 10-point lead in the first quarter, after Sonny Weems contributed 15 points.

Guangdong extended the gap to 20 points for a brief period in the second quarter thanks to Hu Mingxuan's glittering performance with 10 points. Shanghai cut the deficit to 15 points as the first half ended.

Weems collected 11 points in the third quarter and helped Guangdong enlarge the margin to 27 points.

After converting successive layups in fast breaks in the last quarter, the Southern Tigers put the game beyond their opponents' reach.

Guangdong veteran Yi Jianlian, who broke the CBA's regular season scoring record in the previous round, was benched in this game.

Five players scored in the double digits for Guangdong, as Weems grabbed a game-high 34 points, Zhou Peng had 24 points, and Ren Junfei finished with 23 points and nine rebounds.

Yan Peng collected 18 points for Shanghai, Luo Hanchen added 16 points, Tang Zihao and Ju Minxin got 10 points apiece.

"Tonight the defense was strong, and the players were dedicated to the game," said Du Feng, coach of Guangdong.

"Obviously, it was a hard game for us. We tried to give more time for the young guys," said Shanghai coach Manos Manouselis. 

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