Lutubula Lutubula (left) of Xinjiang Flying Tigers shoots past Zhu Rongzhen of Shandong Heroes during a match between Xinjiang Flying Tigers and Shandong Heroes at the 2019-2020 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, July 17, 2020. (GUO XULEI / XINHUA)

QINGDAO, China - Although Zhou Qi sat on the bench the whole game, Xinjiang Flying Tigers still defeated Shandong Heroes 107-94 to secure their top four rank, while Joseph Young continued his scoring streak to help the Nanjing Monkey Kings beat the Jilin Northeast Tigers 111-95 during the 2019-20 season of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) here on Friday.

With a 33-9 record, Xinjiang currently ranks the second in the Chinese Basketball Association league

Shandong finished the first quarter with a four-point margin before Xinjiang tied the score 51-51 thanks to Tang Caiyu's nine straight points. Leading by four going into the last quarter, Xinjiang managed to extend the advantage to double-digits on the way to their seventh straight victory.

With a 33-9 record, Xinjiang currently ranks the second in the league, and has already secured a top four berth, which means they could get a rest in the first round of the playoffs between the teams ranked from 5 to 12.

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Tang and Fan Ziming contributed 25 and 20 points respectively for Xinjiang. Shandong's Chen Peidong had a team-high 20 points.

"Our young players, including Tang Caiyu and Fan Ziming, came forward and helped us to win the game. The victory today is very important for us to build our confidence," said Adiljan, head coach of Xinjiang. "I know they are capable of playing, what's more important, they dare to play on the court. I really appreciate these guys."

Zhu Rongzhen (left) of Shandong Heroes breaks through past Fan Ziming of Xinjiang Flying Tigers during a match between Xinjiang Flying Tigers and Shandong Heroes at the 2019-2020 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, July 17, 2020. (GUO XULEI / XINHUA)

Young has turned on his scoring engine since last Saturday when he had 51 points, then storming to 74 points on Monday, the third-highest personal single-game scoring show in CBA history, followed by 57 on Wednesday, and 49 on Friday night. His teammate Hamed Haddadi also contributed 27 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in Nanjing's second victory in a row. Jilin, on the other hand, is now on a five-game losing streak.

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The Beijing Royal Fighters almost turned the table by cutting the deficit to only one point after trailing by 24 in the third quarter against the Qingdao Eagles. But they were unlucky behind the arc during the late fourth quarter as the Eagles claimed the 95-91 victory.

OJ Mayo's 44 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists along with Han Dejun's 30 points and 20 rebounds were enough for the Liaoning Flying Leopards to smash the Fujian Sturgeons 121-101. In another game, Bayi lost to the Shanghai Sharks 97-90.