CBA Roundup: Xiralijan celebrates milestone as Nanjing grabs first win

BEIJING, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Nanjing Monkey Kings player-coach Xiralijan Muhtar became the third greatest three-pointer shooter in Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) history, after hitting his 1,275th three-pointer on Saturday, as Nanjing edged the Beijing Royal Fighters 112-105.

Although Antonio Blakeney contributed 11 points to the home team in the first quarter, several Royal Fighters players hit six three-pointers, helping the away team to a 32-30 lead after the first quarter.

The Royal Fighters led early in the second quarter. Xiralijan's milestone moment helped his team have a 10-2 run and close the first half with a 63-59 lead.

In the third period, the away team kept chasing and cut the deficit to one point. When the final quarter began, Kay Felder helped the Royal Fighters have a four-point advantage through a jumper and a three pointer, before Nanjing embarked on a 10-2 run.

With tight zone defense, Nanjing stopped Beijing from any point runs in the last five minutes. Blakeney fired beyond the arc and gave his team a 110-103 lead with 26.6 seconds remaining, putting the game beyond Beijing's reach.

Elsewhere, the Ningbo Rockets gave the Shenzhen Aviators a tough game. In the first half, Shenzhen led by four points, before enlarging the advantage to five before the fourth quarter.

Midway through the last period, Ningbo narrowed the gap to one, but Jared Sullinger scored 17 points in one quarter to help his team to a three-game winning streak.

Sullinger finished with a double-double with 29 points and 13 rebounds. Damyean Dotson scored a game-high 33 points.

In other games, the Qingdao Eagles edged the Shanghai Sharks 121-120 after two session overtimes, and the Xinjiang Flying Tigers beat the Zhejiang Golden Bulls 116-107 after overtime.