Guangsha 110, Zhejiang 101: It appears that the JR Smith CBA experiment will end in disappointment. Well, actually, I guess that depends on your perspective. JR and his Zhejiang squad came into this one in 9th place, but just one game out of the 8th spot… which just so happened to be occupied by Wilson Chandler and Guangsha. Had JR been able to able to deliver a big victory the teams would’ve been tied up with just two rounds to go. It was Chandler who came up huge, though, with 46 points on 17-30 from the floor. While I understand that many are viewing this as a win for JR and a loss for Wilson… these guys do have some pride on the line. As of right now JR is the go-to guy on a team that isn’t going to qualify for the postseason in the Chinese league. He’s also 0-2 against his former Nuggets teammate. Just sayin’.
Guangdong 110, Xinjiang 106: This would’ve been a huge win for Xinjiang, and they almost had it! Tim Pickett dropped a massive 45 points (he had 11 boards, too), but Guangdong’s balanced attack proved to be too much for the 13th game in a row. Aaron Brooks led the Southern Tigers in scoring with 32 while James Singleton came up with 21 points and 17 boards. All-Star Zhu Fangyu also contributed 22 points, and Zhou Peng added another 16. Aside from Pickett, no Flying Tiger scored more than 11. The loss puts Xinjiang at 17-13, meaning they no longer hold a one-game lead over Guangsha and Shanghai, who both won today.
Shanghai 103, Jiangsu 83: Shanghai lucked out today… of all the teams fighting for playoff positioning, they drew the worst opponent. Jiangsu came in having lost their last six, and you can make it seven thanks to Mike Harris’s 34 points and TWENTY-EIGHT rebounds. Jackson Vroman’s 26 and 17 pale in comparison. Anyway, Shanghai remains tied with Guangsha (and now Xinjiang as well) at 17-13.
Shandong 95, Tianjin 91: Too little too late, but Shandong has won three in a row. Othello Hunter exploded for 25 points and 25 boards while Donnell Harvey had 30 and 24 in defeat. This was Harvey’s 6th consecutive game of 30+ points and 10+ boards. Call him Chinese Kevin Love.
Dongguan 124, Fujian 104: This was a pretty big loss for Fujian seeing as they only have one game left. They drop to 17-14… one loss behind Guangsha, Xinjiang, and Shanghai. They have a bye next round before going to on play Xinjiang in the season finale. That should be a good one. Dongguan’s Shavlik Randolph was the leading scorer in today’s game with 36. His buddy Josh Akognon added 33.
Jilin 97, Bayi 96: Cartier Martin scored 33 on 13-18 in this meaningless nail biter. Jilin went 10-18 from three-point range… I guess that’s pretty impressive. All-Star Wang Zhizhi led Bayi with 23.
Beijing 110, Foshan 102: Beijing keeps themselves a game up on third-place Dongguan by beating a lowly Foshan team. Stephon Marbury had 33/10/7… it was his third 30-point effort in his last four games. Marcus Haislip led Foshan with 34.
Shanxi 111, Liaoning 109: Shanxi holds on to 4th place with this two-point victory. Liaoning has now dropped six in a row… that’s the second-longest losing streak in the league. Rodney Carney went 1-10 from three, but that’s actually an improvement on Wednesday’s 0-10. Marcus Williams led Shanxi with 37. Charles Gaines had 27 and 15.
