Dominique Jones had a double-double as Xinjiang edged Shanghai 109-104 in the 2023-24 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league regular season on Wednesday.
Dominique Jones (front) of Xinjiang Flying Tigers drives the ball during the 19th round match between Xinjiang Flying Tigers and Shanghai Sharks at 2023-2024 season of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league in Urumqi, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Dec. 20, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Fei)
Shanghai led 104-103 with two minutes to go, before Abudushalamu and Jones scored a straight six points to turn the game around.
Xinjiang stormed to a 17-0 run to build a 28-14 lead in the first quarter. Dwayne Bacon stood out for Shanghai, who scored 23 points in the second quarter to take his team to a 50-49 lead into the halftime.
After the break, the two teams seesawed and Xinjiang retook a slender 81-79 lead into the final quarter.
Abudushalamu had 25 points, while Jones contributed 21 points, 10 assists plus nine rebounds for Xinjiang. Bacon scored a game-high 40 points for Shanghai.
"It was a brilliant game, we made too many mistakes and did not do well in rebounds in the first half, but we improved ourselves, and we grabbed nine more rebounds than our opponents in the second half, I believe this was the key to our victory," Xinjiang's coach Qiu Biao said.
"This game was a fierce battle, we made terrible mistakes in the crucial moments, however, it is an acceptable result considering this was an away game against a strong team, I am happy that our team has made progress," Shanghai's coach Liu Peng said.
Elsewhere, Liaoning thrashed Shanxi 100-79, Jilin saw off Sichuan 117-101, Ningbo edged Jiangsu 108-105, Qingdao beat Shandong 104-94, and Zhejiang eased past Beikong 99-82.