ZHUJI, China, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Zhejiang Golden Bulls smashed the Sichuan Blue Whales 130-99 on Saturday and won their first game in the second phase of the 2020-21 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) season.
After a balanced first half, Zhejiang led the game 56-54 before the break, and extended the lead to 88-78 in the third quarter.
Nicholas Rakocevic of Zhejiang scored a team-high 24 points, followed by 23 from Brandon Paul. Wu Qian had 22 points and eight assists.
Chen Chen contributed 21 points for Sichuan. Their new foreign player Marcus Georges-Hunt made his first appearance for Sichuan and had 13 points and four rebounds.
According to Sichuan head coach Zhou Jinli, their veteran center Hamed Haddadi didn't show up due to his foot injury. Marcus Georges-Hunt hadn't trained with the team yet and still needed time to fit in.
"Our defense and rebounds created chances to score in the second half," said Zhejiang coach Liu Weiwei. Enditem