The Xinjiang Flying Tigers defeated the Nanjing Monkey Kings 118-111 in Game One of their Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) Playoffs first-round series at home in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Friday, leading 1-0 in the best-of-three showdown.A longtime powerhouse which won the league title in 2017, Xinjiang built an 11-point lead at 25-14 in the first quarter, with a 14-3 run launched by Qi Lin, Li Yanzhe, and Dedric Lawson.
Nanjing stopped the bleeding near the end of the period, as Zhu Mingzhen, Tian Yuheng, and T.J.
Leaf drilled consecutive three-pointers.
The visitors trailed 32-27 at the buzzer.The home side's American big man, Montrezl Harrell, began to display his offensive skills in the paint in the second quarter, and repeatedly rattled the rim to help extend the Flying Tigers' lead to more than 20 points.
Lin Wei combined with Leaf as the Monkey Kings replied with a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 15 points, 66-51, at halftime.Lin and Leaf maintained their tenacity on the offensive end in the third quarter, joined by Guo Haowen, who began to charge into the home side's paint with aggression.
Their combined efforts trimmed the margin to seven points, 80-73, but Qi and Sindarius Thornwell both nailed three-pointers to help move the hosts in front 95-85 when the period ended.Xinjiang suffered a major blow in the fourth quarter, when Zhao Rui exited the game with knee injury, and had to be stretchered off the court.
Lin and Zhu knocked down a series of triples to help Nanjing close the gap to three points, 114-111, with less than two minutes left.
The Flying Tigers kept the Monkey Kings from scoring again, however, and held on for a three-point victory.Lin's career night of 37 points and 11 assists failed to translate into a win for Nanjing, which will return home seeking a win in Game Two on Monday.In the other postseason opener, the Qingdao Eagles cruised past the Zhejiang Golden Bulls 112-96 at home, to grab a 1-0 lead in their series.
Wang Ruize shot 13-for-20 from the field and drained six threes to finish with a game-high 36 points in Qingdao's victory.
The Eagles led the Golden Bulls by just one point, 87-86, at the start of the fourth quarter, but then turned the outcome into a foregone conclusion with a 22-2 run over the next seven minutes.Game Two will take place in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, on Monday.