Fortson's 39 points help Guangsha to 8th consecutive win

BEIJING, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Guangsha are the log leaders temporarily after they defeated Qingdao 125-118 on Friday in the 34th round of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

Former NBA player Courtney Fortson scored 39 points and 19 assists for Guangsha and Hu Jinqiu contributed 16 points to ensure that his team now has eight victories in a row. For Qingdao, Jonathan Gibson and James Mays combined for 51 points.

Guangsha established a 35-20 lead in the first quarter, as they kept Gibson under control. With help from Fortson and Hu, Guangsha kept the lead in the following quarters.

Guangsha have 28 wins out of 34 games after this match, and are two games ahead of their closest rival Liaoning, who beat Jilin 114-99 on Friday with the absence of Guo Ailun due to a wrist injury.

Lester Hudson collected a game-high 39 points for Liaoning, Zhao Jiwei contributed 14 rebounds and Li Xiaoxu grabbed 13 points. Carl Landry had a team-high 24 points and 11 rebounds for Jilin.

In the other two matches played on Friday, Shenzhen beat Zhejiang 97-92, Tianjin downed Bayi 97-90.