Dominique Jones (C) of Jilin Northeast Tigers dribbles during the 25th round match between Tianjin Pioneers and Jilin Northeast Tigers at the 2020-2021 season of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league in Zhuji, east China's Zhejiang Province, Jan. 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhu Zheng)
ZHUJI, China, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Dominique Jones contributed a game-high 51 points as the Jilin Northeast Tigers edged the Tianjin Pioneers in the 25th round of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) here on Friday.
Jones also had 12 rebounds and seven assists, while Jiang Yuxing finished with 20 points, four rebounds and four assists. Dai Huaibo pocketed 19 points and five rebounds.
The game was full of twists and turns. Jilin led by 11 points at the most. However, under the leadership of Marco Todorovic, Tianjin kept up with the score. At the key moments, Jones held the victory for Jilin.
Instead of celebrating, Jilin coach Wang Han pointed out their problems on defense.
"We didn't put much pressure in the paint and they could pass the ball freely at some points," said Wang.
Todorovic scored a team-high 46 points, plus 11 rebounds and three assists. He Siyu added 12 points, five rebounds and three assists. Meng Zikai got 12 points and three rebounds.
Jilin took the lead before Tianjin using fouls to score six points in a row to tie the score in the second quarter. Taking advantage of Tianjin's mistakes, Jilin overtook the lead but almost failed to hold the edge. Jones was back to the game in the last minutes and led Jilin to win the game.
"We paid the price for our turnovers in the last quarter, and we have to pull ourselves together after the loss," said Tianjin coach Liu Tie. Enditem
