The Guangdong Southern Tigers overwhelmed the Sichuan Blue Whales 111-90, while the Shenzhen Aviators ended their run of three straight losses after a 96-87 victory over the Shanxi Loongs in the 2020-21 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league on Tuesday.

It was Guangdong's fourth straight victory this season. Marshon Brooks scored a game-high 34 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Guangdong. Sonny Weems, the Finals MVP last season, had 23 points and 4 assists.

Guangdong opened up a 16-6 lead and never looked back. The defending champion led by 14 points at the halftime break. Weems had 13 points in the third quarter, inspiring Guangdong to expend the lead to 25 points with a 16-5 run.

Sichuan's Hu Linsen notched 19 points, Zhu Songwei added 14 points and eight rebounds. Hamed Haddadi got 11 points and nine rebounds but made six turnovers.

Guangdong star guard Zhao Rui was ejected after receiving two technical fouls in 47 seconds late in the third, but Sichuan had no chance to turn the tide.

Elsewhere in the match between Shenzhen and Shanxi, Shanxi took a 43-37 lead into half time on the back of five three-pointers.

Jamaal Franklin of Shanxi came on the court in the third quarter, struggled early and showed that he still needs time to play himself into form. Shenzhen staged a comeback with a 33-17 run in the penultimate quarter, with Shanxi unable to answer the offense of their opposition in the fourth quarter, and Shenzhen keeping hold of the lead until the end.

Franklin made his first appearance of the season, but could only muster seven points and five assists.

"Our players made fewer mistakes and defended well in the game. I'm proud of them," said Shenzhen coach Qiu Biao.

"We struggled in the second half, mainly because the players did not have enough training time. I need to take the main responsibility for it," said Shanxi coach Ding Wei.

Also on Tuesday, Shanghai defeated Fujian 116-87, while the Zhejiang Golden Bulls edged the Zhejiang Lions 113-104.

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