Nicholas Rakocevic (2nd R) of Zhejiang Golden Bulls passes the ball during the 31th round match between Zhejiang Golden Bulls and Shanxi Loongs at the 2020-2021 season of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league in Zhuji, east China's Zhejiang Province, Jan. 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)
ZHUJI, China, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Nicholas Rakocevic scored 22 points and had 22 rebounds to lift the Zhejiang Golden Bulls over the Shanxi Loongs 97-81 in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) here on Saturday.
National team player Wu Qian got 18 points and 11 assists for Zhejiang. With five three-pointers, forward Zhu Xuhang added 19 points and 10 rebounds.
"Our players behaved selfless in this match and we had better rebounds," said Zhejiang coach Liu Weiwei.
Shanxi shooter Yuan Shuai had a game-high 25 points. Center Eric Moreland finished with 21 points, 19 rebounds, five assists and five blocks.
In the first quarter, with Yuan Shuai's three-pointer and Morland's fast-break, Shanxi posted 25-15 to take the lead.
Guard Wu Qian made two-and-one and three-pointer to help Zhejiang turn back before the end of second quarter. Rakocevic had 12 points and nine rebounds in this quarter from the substitutes' bench.
At the third quarter, Zhejiang widened the advantage to double digits. Zhu Xuhang made two three-pointers and Wu had 10 points in this quarter.
Shanxi tried hard to fight back in the last quarter, but they could not stop the fluent attacks of Zhejiang on the way to their 2nd straight loss.
"We played not very well tonight and we need to be more active in the future," said Shanxi coach Ding Wei.
Zhejiang will take on Guangzhou in the next round, while Shanxi faces Qingdao. Enditem
