Guo Ailun (right) of Liaoning Flying Leopards goes for a layup during the semifinal match between Zhejiang Golden Bulls and Liaoning Flying Leopards at the 2020-2021 season of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league in Zhuji, east China's Zhejiang Province, April 21, 2021. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

ZHUJI - The Liaoning Flying Leopards displayed their playoff experience by dispatching a surging Zhejiang Golden Bulls 119-103 in the CBA semifinals here on Wednesday and moving a step towards reaching the finals for the second straight year.

The victory extended Liaoning's winning streak over Zhejiang in the playoff, as they had won all four previous head-to-heads.

The Liaoning Flying Leopards out-rebounded Zhejiang Golden bulls 52-31, and seven Liaoning players scored in double digits. Zhao Jiwei made 5 of 7 three-pointers to finish with a team-best 21 points. Fu Hao, who had joined Liaoning during a mid-season registration window, contributed 18 points. Guo Ailun and Han Dejun each scored 16, and Guo also dished out 10 assists

"It was a victory of team basketball. We played what we wanted on both ends," said Liaoning head coach Yang Ming, who had his shirt wet through in this spellbinding matchup.

Liaoning out-rebounded Zhejiang 52-31, and seven Liaoning players scored in double digits. Zhao Jiwei made 5 of 7 three-pointers to finish with a team-best 21 points. Fu Hao, who had joined Liaoning during a mid-season registration window, contributed 18 points. Guo Ailun and Han Dejun each scored 16, and Guo also dished out 10 assists.

"He is MVP-caliber, and has offered much help to the team this season," Yang commented on Zhao's performance.

With a game-high 27 points on 7-of-10 three-point attempts, Zhu Xuhang was the only comfort that Zhejiang could get from this loss. Four other Zhejiang players had double-figure points. The regular season MVP Wu Qian nailed 18 points and nine assists.

"We were not accustomed at the beginning, and failed to execute the tactics and play to our advantages," rued Wu.

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The two sides heated up early from beyond the arc, combining for six 3-pointers in the first four minutes. Zhao's four-point play ignited a 10-0 surge for Liaoning, who never looked back from there.

Zhao scored 10 points in the opening quarter. Liaoning substitutes also provided scoring punch off the bench, as O.J. Mayo and Fu earned them a 30-19 lead when the quarter time was over.

Despite reaching the final four for the first time in franchise history, Zhejiang failed to figure out the defensive tactics well against a far more experienced opponent. After Zhu's three-pointer that trimmed the lead to six points midway through the second quarter, Liaoning pulled away with a 10-0 spurt and displayed their advantage in the paint, with Han and Fu contributing consecutively to power the side to a 14-point halftime lead.

Not a typical shooter, Wang Yibo sank two 3-pointers in a row, and Wu followed with a layup to pull Zhejiang back at 71-60, but Zhao's shot from 3-point land steadied Liaoning, who rode another 7-0 scoring run and made the most of substitute center Zhu Rongzhen's buzzer-beating layup to move ahead 87-70 going into the final 12 minutes.

Liaoning rookie Zhang Zhenlin, who had 10 all but secured the victory with a three-pointer with 2:41 remaining. Then the two teams made changes to their roster on the floor and let the game time pass by.

"We shared the ball well, and had a flow of offense," Zhang noted.

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"We haven't played big games like the semifinals before, and Liaoning gave us a lesson today," admitted Zhejiang head coach Liu Weiwei, who also hoped his young players can show fighting spirit and become positive on both ends.

The two sides will meet again on Friday