Jiangsu defeats Shenzhen 105-98 as CBA season restarts

Antonio Blakeney racked up 29 points, six rebounds and two assists, helping the Jiangsu Dragons beat the Shenzhen Aviators 105-98 here on Saturday as the CBA season restarted following nearly a five-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Li Muhao provided Shenzhen an impressive start, but Jiangsu responded with an 8-1 scoring run midway through the first quarter and led 34-24 before the first break.

Shenzhen was struggling to reduce the gap through the second quarter, and saw Jiangsu's lead grow to 20-plus points after Shi Hongfei's three-pointer.

Depending on a solid defense system, Jiangsu went on a dominating 12-0 run at the beginning of the second half.

But Shenzhen fought back with nine unanswered points of their own, narrowing the difference to one digit.

Jiangsu rebuilt its two-digit advantage half way through the last quarter on the back of Blakeney's two consecutive lay-ups. The only foreign player in the game brought Jiangsu's lead beyond the reach of their rivals.

26-year-old Jiangsu center Wu Guanxi had 18 points and 15 rebounds, while his good friend Shen Zijie of Shenzhen got 21 points and 10 rebounds. Gu Quan of Shenzhen pocketed 24 points and 11 rebounds.

The CBA season, which was halted on February 1, resumed on Saturday with 10 teams playing in Qingdao, Shandong province and the other 10 in Donguan, Guangdong province.

The remaining matches will be played behind closed doors in a championship-style format.