Center Zhou Qi made 41 points and 13 rebounds to help the Xinjiang Flying Tigers win over the Tianjing Pioneers 119-106, while the Liaoning Leopards smashed the Shanxi Loongs 124-87 in the 2020-21 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) season on Thursday.

Prior to the clash, Xinjiang has won four matches against Tianjin this season, and Zhou's comeback became another boost. Donatas Motiejunas added 30 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists for Xinjiang.

Six players scored double digits for Tianjin, but they were still unable to win the game.

After Tianjin led the first quarter by one point, Xinjiang was quick to overtake the lead entering the second half with a 16-point advantage. Tianjin managed to close to 108-101 with three minutes remaining, then Motiejunas stepped forward with five straight points to ensure the victory for Xinjiang.

However, Liaoning kept leading the league after its win over Shanxi.

Center Han Dejun had a game-high 18 points and nine rebounds, point guard Guo Ailun snatched 17 points in 12 minutes and rookie forward Zhang Zhenlin added 15 points. For Shanxi, rookie Zhang Ning scored 18 points from the bench, but center Eric Moreland made only five points and seven rebounds.

"We played very well in this game and set a good start to the new year," Liaoning coach Yang Ming said.

In other games on Thursday, the Zhejiang Lions edged the Beijing Royal Fighters 101-94, the Fujian Sturgeons beat the Shanghai Sharks 110-98 stopping Shanghai's six-game winning streak, the Nanjing Monkey Kings lost to the Sichuan Whales 97-111, the Shenzhen Aviators won over the Guangzhou Long Lions 112-103.

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