Rockets finally have lift-off

The Bayi Rockets edged the Xinjiang Flying Tigers 83-76 in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Tuesday, as the league's bottom side recorded its first victory since the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league resumed this month.

Eleven players got on the scoreboard for Bayi, with forward Lei Meng posting a team-high 12 points and 12 rebounds. Xinjiang's China international Zhou Qi racked up a game-high 21 points and 15 rebounds, but only made one 3-pointer.

Bayi's last victory was on Dec 22 last year when it defeated the Nanjing Monkey Kings.

After a disjointed start, Xinjiang gradually found its rhythm but came up against a stubborn and intense defense from Bayi. The Rockets restricted their second-place opponents to only 32 points at halftime for an eight-point lead.

Bayi poured on the 3-pointers at the beginning of the third quarter extended the gap to 14 points. Led by Zhou, Xinjiang staged a late rally with wave after wave of attack that ultimately fell short due to foul trouble.

Xinhua