BEIJING: Antonio Blakeney scored a game-high 39 points to go along with 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Nanjing Monkey Kings pulled off a 122-110 home victory over the Beijing Royal Fighters, ending the latter’s eight-game winning streak in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) on Sunday.
Nanjing built a 28-22 advantage in the first quarter, while Wu Tingjia led them to a 10-0 run early in the second period for a 65-48 halftime lead.
The Royal Fighters narrowed the gap to six points after three quarters, but Blakeney helped Nanjing surge again with an early 11-0 run in the fourth to set its winning tone.
For Beijing, Grant Riller scored 36 points, Liao Sanning had a career-high 33 points and Meng Zikai added 13.
In Sunday’s other match, the Zhejiang Lions achieved a wire-to-wire 100-82 victory over the Shanxi Loongs. Hu Jinqiu finished with a double-double of 23 points and 12 rebounds, helping Zhejiang end its three-game skid.
Alexey Shved got 10 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists for Shanxi, while Zhang Ning scored 18 points.
“Due to injuries, we have not been in good form in the last few games, and everyone did their best to win our last game before the Chinese New Year,” said Zhejiang head coach Wang Bo. –Agencies
