Askia Booker (C) of Shenzhen Aviators competes during the 26th round match between Shenzhen Aviators and Shanxi Loongs at the 2020-2021 season of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league in Zhuji, east China's Zhejiang Province, Jan. 3, 2021. (Xinhua/Jiang Han)
ZHUJI, China, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Shenzhen Aviators defeated the Shanxi Loongs 116-93 in the 26th round of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league here on Sunday to enjoy their sixth victory in a row.
Shenzhen won all three games against Shanxi last season, and the 23-point differential was the largest margin over the four games.
Shenzhen jumped out to a 10-2 lead before Shanxi bounced back quickly and retaliated with a 16-6 run to lead by one point when the first quarter finished.
Shen Zijie and Askia Booker dominated the second quarter and helped Shenzhen build a 30-point lead.
Shen Zijie maintained his hot performance in the second half, while Shanxi's turnovers increased gradually as time went on.
With less than two minutes to go, Shenzhen led by 27 points and the victory was in no doubt.
Shen Zijie scored a game-high 28 points and 12 rebounds to lead five players in double-digit figures, with Askia Booker adding 22 points.
Seven Shanxi players scored double-digit points with Ren Junwei having a team-high 13 points and Eric Moreland 10 points and 10 rebounds.
"It's good to win the first game in the new year. Our win came from our good defense, which created 23 turnovers. The 32 assists contributed to the win, too," said Qiu Biao, Shenzhen's head coach.
Shanxi's head coach Ding Wei said at the press conference that he was to blame, but Liu Guancen argued that the responsibility rests with the whole team. Enditem
