CBA Roundup: Liaoning sweep Fujian into CBA semi, Zhejiang pull one game back against Xinjiang

BEIJING, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Liaoning beat Fujian 106-102 on Sunday, winning the series 3-0 to make it into the final four of CBA, while Zhejiang defeated Xinjiang 120-112 as Xinjiang still lead the best-of-five series 2-1.

Fujian trimmed the deficit to 43-47 in the second quarter as center Wang zhelin buried two 3-pointers in a row before Liaoning took the lead on 68-54 with Guo Ailun's buzzer-beating layup in the first half.

Wang Zhelin took the dominance in the paint but Liaoning got a hot hand from downtown as the away team surged to a 6-0 run to go up to 103-94 with five minutes remaining in the fourth period. Fujian narrowed the margin to one point on 102-103 as the home team took a 7-0 sprint with two minutes and 12 seconds left before Li Xiaoxu made a crucial long jumper for Liaoning to clinch the victory.

"Our boys did a really good job tonight. We kept intensive defense and grabbed a lot of rebounds. Looking forward for the next round," said Liaoning head coach Guo Shiqiang.

Guo Ailun scored a game high 32 points, followed by Lester Hudson's 27 points and 26 from Brandon Bass. Fujian's Wang Zhelin had a team-high 29 points. Eugene Jeter collected 20 points and seven assists. Andrew Nicholson added 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Xinjiang usurped the lead on 61-54 at the break before Loannis Bourousis finished the layup in the third quarter, helping Zhejiang cut the deficit to 67-68. Zhejiang took the lead on 110-105 by Lin Zhijie's three with one minute and 57 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Courtney Fortson made a jumper to help Zhejiang expand the lead to seven points with 35 seconds left to win the game.