Chen Yingjun, left, of Guangzhou Loong Lions vies with Wang Ruheng, right, of Shandong Heroes during the 21th round match between Shandong Heros and Guangzhou Loong Lions at the 2020-2021 season of the CBA league in Zhuji, east China's Zhejiang province, Dec 22, 2020. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

ZHUJI - With a more balanced performance, the Shandong Heroes defeated the Guangzhou Loong Lions 113-103 in the 21st round of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) on Tuesday.

Shandong started the first quarter with fierce attacks in the paint, leading a 9-0 spurt at the beginning of the game. Led by the international duo of Dallas Moore and Isaac Haas, Guangzhou gradually narrowed the gap and trailed by only five points before entering the second quarter.

Shandong started the first quarter with fierce attacks in the paint, leading a 9-0 spurt at the beginning of the game. Led by the international duo of Dallas Moore and Isaac Haas, Guangzhou gradually narrowed the gap and trailed by only five points before entering the second quarter

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Guangzhou tried to keep up with the pace of their rivals in the second quarter, but every time they approached the match-up, Shandong quickly answered back. Shandong extended the margin to eight points at the half-time break.

Shandong continued to expand the advantage to double digits in the second half with a 7-0 scoring dash and kept the upper hand at the end of the third quarter.

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Guangzhou gave rise to a 6-0 surge in the last quarter but Gao Shiyan made three consecutive steals to keep Shandong ahead and nail down the victory. With the loss, Guangzhou suffered a three-game skid.

Gao notched a team-high 24 points, five rebounds, and seven assists, and Lester Hudson scored 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Shandong.

Haas made nine of 13 fields to finish with a game-high 26 points and 14 rebounds, while Zhu Mingzhen got 17 points for Guangzhou.