Beijing thrashes Jiangsu, Liaoning defeats Qingdao

BEIJING - The Beijing Ducks thrashed the Jiangsu Dragons 123-92, while the Liaoning Flying Leopards cruised past the Qingdao Eagles 116-87 in the last round of the 2022-2023 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) here on Wednesday.

The Ducks turned their home game into a blowout merely in the first quarter, and Jiangsu's turnovers gave Ty Leaf four chances to show off his bounce. After Zhang Cairen, Zhu Yanxi and Leimeng nailed 3-pointers successively, Beijing finished the first quarter with 40-17 in front.

Three-pointers kept being poured from the Beijing side, and they made eight shots behind the arc in the second quarter. The Dragons coached by Li Nan failed to find a way to check their loaded rivals, leaving an embarrassing 11 turnovers to wrap up the first half.

Beijing had no interest in hitting the break and the game came to trash time before Jonathan Gibson put on a ball handle show.

Zeng Fanbo scored 18 points, and Zhang Cairen added 22. Cui Xiaolong took a team-high 22 points for the Dragons, while Xu Mengjun added eight. Both teams secured seats in the playoffs.

In another game, the Liaoning Flying Leopards took an easy win over the Qingdao Eagles, who rank 13th in the standings to miss the playoffs.

Kyle Fogg scored a game-high 38 points for Liaoning, and Guo Ailun added 13 points and four assists. On Qingdao's side, Duop Reath had a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Eugene German scored 25.

Elsewhere, the Shanghai Sharks routed the Beijing Royal Fighters 149-100, the Fujian Sturgeons beat the Shanxi Loongs 93-87, the Zhejiang Lions defeated the Sichuan Blue Whales, the Shandong Heroes beat the Zhejiang Golden Bulls 115-103, the Guangzhou Loong Lions defeated Jilin Northeast Tigers 104-87, the Tianjin Pioneers outperformed the Shenzhen Aviators 104-98, the Guangdong Southern Tigers beat the Xinjiang Flying Tigers 108-95 and the Ningbo Rockets nosed out the Nanjing Monkey Kings 98-97.