Xinjiang beat Peace-led Sichuan to start new CBA campaign

Going into a record 20-team era, last season's runner-up Xinjiang Guanghui held off Sichuan Jinqiang, led by former NBA player Metta World Peace, to see a 109-101 road victory in 2014-15 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) league on Sunday.

Xinjiang lost to Beijing 4-2 in the best-of-seven finals last season. They made several key signings during the off-season, including former NBA players Andray Blatche and Jordan Crawford. They also acquired former Chinese national team point guard Liu Wei and promising post player Zhou Qi, wishing to compete for the title this season.

Blatche finished with game-high 31 points and 14 boards. Crawford and Liu Wei added 22 and 10 points respectively.

"We still have to solve some problems. Generally, we did a good job in defense," said Gao Shumin, Xinjiang's new coach.

Trailing by 12 points early in the last period, the hosts took a 12-1 run to bounce back, including eight points from Peace, who got a new name "The Pandas Friend" since coming to China.

Xirelijiang made two critical shots behind the arc, giving Xinjiang a comfortable five-point lead. Crawford and Liu Wei's two consecutive layups sealed the win for the visitors.

Peace had 23 points and seven rebounds in his first CBA regular game.

The biggest margin of this round came from the contest between Zhejiang Guangsha and Bayi Fubang. Thanks to six players' double-figure points, Guangsha crushed over their opponents 128-86.

Two promoted teams this season, Chongqing Flying Dragon and Jiangsu Tongxi, didn't reach out to the victory in fromt of last season's underperforming teams. Chongqing lost to Shanxi 121-110, while Jiangsu was downed by Qingdao 117-105.

In Sunday's other matches, Liaoning Hengye beat Foshan Long Lions 110-103, Jilin Northeast Tigers upset Dongguan Marco Polo 125-120, Fujian SBS lost to Tianjin Ronggang 104-100, and Shandong Highways sank Jiangsu Dragons 104-94.

After receiving their champion rings, Beijing Ducks downed Guangdong Hongyuan 103-89 in season opener on Saturday. 37-year-old Stephon Marbury had game-high 32 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Elsewhere, Zhejiang Chouzhou beat Shanghai Sharks 126-110.