BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The Liaoning Flying Leopards and the Guangdong Southern Tigers, two higher-ranked sides in the regular season, defended their home courts in Game 1 of the best-of-five quarterfinals of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league on Thursday.

Defending champion Liaoning had a dominant third quarter to overwhelm the Shenzhen Aviators 124-87, while Guangdong sailed past the Zhejiang Lions 120-100.

Playing its first playoff game this season, Liaoning needed time to get into the tempo, trailing 6-0 after the tip-off. Jared Sullinger and He Xining combined for 18 points in the first quarter, and Sullinger's step-back jumper at the buzzer helped Shenzhen go ahead 30-25 at the end of the quarter.

He's 3-pointer moved Shenzhen ahead 37-30 early in the second period, while Liaoning began to claw back. Zhao Jiwei's 3-pointer and Zhang Zhenlin's layup off a Shenzhen turnover helped Liaoning turned the game around 46-43, and Fu Hao followed with a layup to extend the host's advantage. Kyle Fogg's three-point play earned Liaoning a 53-52 halftime lead.

With veterans Han Dejun and Li Xiaoxu primarily its paint duo, Liaoning buckled up its defense after the break, restraining Sullinger to only two points in the third period, where Liaoning outscored Shenzhen 38-13 for a 91-65 margin entering the last 12 minutes.

Despite sending its bench players onto the court, Liaoning maintained its firm grip of the game en route to a lop-sided victory.

All 12 Liaoning players were in action and contributed to the scoreboard, with Zhao Jiwei finishing with a double-double of 24 points and 10 assists. Zhang Zhenlin had 21 points.

"As we enjoyed a bye in the first round and had almost two weeks without any match, we needed time to adjust to the match, and we were not in the pace in the first half," explained Liaoning coach Yang Ming.

"After making adjustments at the break, we found our groove. Meanwhile, the score cannot say too much about the two teams' strength, and we cannot slack off in the next match," he added.

Sullinger's game-high 27 points were in vain. He Xining and Feng Xin had 16 and 14 points respectively for Shenzhen.

Guangdong finished the first quarter on a high note, setting up a 40-21 cushion, while Zhejiang trimmed the deficit to six points at halftime.

Guangdong outscored Zhejiang 31-21 in the third quarter to regain a double-digit lead, and held off its opponent from there to start the series in triumphant fashion.

Zhou Qi led Guangdong scorers with 22 points, and Xu Jie added 20.

"Leading by almost 20 points in the first quarter, we played too simply and lacked consistency in our defense in the second quarter," admitted Guangdong coach Du Feng. "In playoff games, there is no room for loosening up, and you should be focused for the entire 48 minutes."

Quinndary Weatherspoon had a game-high 30 points, leading six Zhejiang players in double digits.

The other two matchups of the series, between the Xinjiang Flying Tigers and the Guangzhou Loong Lions, and the Zhejiang Golden Bulls and the Shanghai Sharks, will see their Game 1 take place on Friday. Enditem

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