Young scores 57 as Nanjing condemns Shanxi to fourth straight loss

QINGDAO, China - The injury-ravaged Nanjing Monkey Kings handed the Shanxi Loongs their fourth consecutive loss, winning 115-100 in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) here on Wednesday.

Joseph Young, who had marked the third-highest personal single-game scoring show in CBA history with 74 points in his last match, took a game-high 57 points along with nine rebounds and eight steals for Nanjing.

Hitting four three-pointers out of six, Shanxi built a 38-31 lead in the first quarter.

With Young scoring 13 points, Nanjing erased an 11-point deficit and took a razor-thin lead instead as the first half ran out.

Relying on a strong defense and two three-pointers from Li Hongpeng, the Monkey Kings enlarged the gap to nine points midway through the third quarter.

Shanxi still couldn't restrict Young's glittering performance and saw the difference surge to 19 points in the last quarter.

Li Hongpeng contributed 18 points for Nanjing, Qiao Wenhan collected 16 points, and Li Shengdong grabbed 11 points and nine rebounds.

On the Shanxi side, Ren Junwei got a team-high 27 points and 14 rebounds, Ge Zhaobao had 19 points, Zhang Hanjun finished with 14 points and Yan Pengfei added 11 points.