Michael Beasley's match-high 48 points helped Shandong beat Guangdong 98-95 in Sunday's first round match of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league.

   Guangdong finished the first quarter by leading at 25-14. Beasley, who missed all his first five shots, led Shandong's 10-3 run in the second period and cut Guangdong's lead to six by halftime.

   Shandong took a 12-5 run in the middle of the third quarter and successfully turned the table, leading two points after that quarter.

   Shandong enlarged their lead to as many as ten in the final period. But the host fought back and cut the difference to only one. Wang Shipeng missed his three-pointer, which ended Guangdong's hope to win team's season opener.

   Beasley finished with 48 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and four steals. Zhou Peng led Guangdong with a career-high 34.

   The loss also ended Guangdong's 21-match winning streak against Shandong since 2008.

   Last season's runner-up Liaoning took an easy victory over Qingdao at 109-97. Liaoning, who swept Qingdao 3-0 in last season's semifinals, opened the game at a 6-0 run and then never looked back. Five Liaoning players scored in double-digits with Han Dejun took a team-high 21 points, as well as eight rebounds. Song Kangming led Qingdao with 29.

   In Sunday's other matches, Guangsha thrashed Bayi at 113-71 while Jilin beat Aolong 105-88. Shenzhen defeated Foshan 116-111, Fujian edged Jiangsu at 104-103, Zhejiang lost to Shanghai at 88-95. Sichuan beat Tongxi 131-99, Tianjin had a 114-106 win over Shanxi.  Endi

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)