NANJING, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- With three players scoring over 20 points, Liaoning Flying Leopards came out strong and beat Nanjing Monkey Kings 110-101 in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) here on Thursday.
With the victory, Liaoning stays fourth in the league, while Nanjing dropped one place to 13th.
Lance Stephenson of Liaoning posted 32 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and his teammate Han Dejun contributed 23 points plus 11 rebounds, shooting 10 for 14. Joseph Young scored a game-high 39 points for Jiangsu but could not save his team.
Nanjing was in their rhythm as Young opened fire, racking up 22 points and Hamed Haddadi controlled the paint with 12 rebounds in the first half, helping the hosting team prevail 60-53 at halftime.
Liaoning soon regrouped as Stephenson kept attacking the rim and the team came back 84-76 into the fourth quarter, while Young seemed obsessed with isolations in the last period but could not hold off his opponents' battering.
