The Guangdong Southern Tigers, in their game one of the best-of-seven CBA playoff finals, thrashed the Bayi Rockets 98-77 at home on Tuesday night.

Guangdong tied the score 22-22 after the first period and Jason Dixon shined in the second quarter to boost the Southern Tigers to a 52-34 halftime lead. And the hosts never gave an opportunity to the Rockets, widening the cushion to 81-53 after 36 minutes.

Du Feng paced Guangdong with 20 points and four assists in the win. Center Yi Jianlian ended in a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Jason Dixon netted 17 points and contributed 9 rebounds.

Chen Ke and Li Ke had 22 points apiece for Bayi. Li Na and Mo Ke managed to gain only 12 and 10 in the loss.

The second game of the final series will be played Wednesday night, also in Guangdong. Guangdong finished the regular season with a 21-0 record at home with Bayi 9-12 on the road.

(China.org.cn April 12, 2006)