Liaoning rallies past Shenzhen with dominant third quarter

Thanks to dominant third-quarter performance, last season's runner-up Liaoning came back from a poor start to beat Shenzhen 113-109 in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league on Wednesday.

Liaoning took on a 37-21 third quarter to erase an eight-point deficit after the first half and build an eight-point lead into the final 12 minutes. Shenzhen once cut the gap to one point later, while Liaoning took the victory back home.

Shavlik Randolph finished with a game-high 39 points for Liaoning. Teammates Lester Hudson and Han Dejun had 29 and 22 respectively.

Liaoning's point guard Guo Ailun didn't show up as he was serving a four-game suspension due to conlifct with Sichuan fans during last season's finals. The team was scoreless three minutes since the tip-off, only to see their opponents storm to a 9-0 start. Han Dejun's two hook plays in a row snapped Liaoning's slide, followed by Hudson's two consecutive shots beyond the arc, but the hosts still had the upper hand as they led at 63-55 into the halftime.

Liaoning built their lead for the first time at 66-65 throughout the game, fueled by Randolph's dunk with 8:26 to go in the third period, and had their margin extended with much improvement in their offensive efficiency.

Leading by eight points, Liaoning resisted their opponents' comeback in the last quarter. Zhao Jiwei's two crucial free throws with 32.3 seconds remaining earned Liaoning a five-point lead, and the visitors sealed the win with solid performance on free throw line.

Six Shenzhen players scored double-digit points, led by Gu Quan's 31.

Powered by Hamed Haddadi's 34 points and 23 boards, defending champion Sichuan went past Jiangsu 92-86. Veteran point guard Liu Wei had 22 for Sichuan.

Elsewhere, Bayi lost to Guangsha 105-82, Shandong crushed over Aolong 114-92, and Fujian beat Guangzhou 96-91.

Other five games of the fifth round will be held on Friday. Endit