Sichuan Blue Whales welcomed the Liaoning Flying Leopards on Wednesday night. Sichuan, who currently sit second in the table, do not have much space between themselves and their fourth placed visitors and needed a win to keep the pressure on first placed Xinjiang.
Hamed Haddadi spins off Han Dejun and finishes off the glass as Sichuan jump out to an early eight point lead. The Flying Leopards finally get on the board when Lester Hudson knocks down the trey.
Then it's Wang Ru-heng converting the fast break lay-up to make it 10-3 for the hosts, before he connects again from distance for a ten point advantage. In the second quarter, Liaoning fight back thanks to Shavlik Randolph who backs in for the jumper.
Then Hudson hits a nice three to cut the deficit to just two points. And they take the lead through Hudson again with the quick three-pointer. Now tied at 47, Guo Ailun puts the Flying Leopards back on top with a triple.
Hudson then adds another, part of his ten three pointers in this game, and he would rack up 36 points and ten rebounds. But none sweeter than this one from way downtown as the two-time international MVP is clearly in a groove.
Liaoning would go on to win 111-94, but things get nasty at the end when Haddadi and Li Xiaoyu exchange courtesies and the players and refs have to intervene and separate them.
In some other games, Yi Jian'lian scored 48 points as Guangdong edged Jilin by four, Beijing beat Bayi, first place Xinjiang secured their spot in the playoffs by beating Shanghai, Michael Beasley had 36 points and 14 rebounds to lead Shandong over Guangsha, and Jordan Crawford had 43 in Tianjin's victory.
