Wu Qian nailed down five 3-pointers in the third quarter to help the Zhejiang Golden Bulls beat the defending champion Liaoning Flying Leopards 103-91, while the Guangdong Southern Tigers defeated the Guangzhou Loong Lions 105-93 in the 25th round of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA League) regular season on Wednesday.

Carlik Jones led the Golden Bulls with 28 points and nine assists, and Wu added 24 points including six 3-pointers. On the Flying Leopards' sheet, Zhang Zhenlin scored a team-high 20 points, Zhao Jiwei took 15 points and dished out seven assists, and Eric Moreland contributed a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Last season's final contenders maintained powerful momentum in the league and the two sides tied at 51 at halftime in their first encounter of the new season. Despite paint veterans Han Dejun and Li Xiaoxu getting another year older and Guo Ailun seeming to haven't found his rhythm coming back from injury, the defending champion Liaoning, who topped team rebounds (52.2 per game) and defensive efficiency (101.4) managed to defuse runs from the more mature challengers, who had guard Cheng Shuaipeng and center Yu Jiahao capped national team to play in the Hangzhou Asian Games.

The turning point came in the third quarter as Zhejiang's guard Wu Qian made five shots behind the arc, gifting his side a 12-point lead. Jones, who made his mark in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, didn't hold his fire in the fourth quarter, and the Golden Bulls secured the victory with more than a minute and half on the clock.

Then, Liaoning's Fu Hao was ejected after elbowing Jones in a layup, resulting in three teeth of Jones falling down according to a photo posted by the visitor's official social media account. Zhejiang's head coach Wang Shilong addressed the incident in the post-game conference, saying "Health is vital for professional athletes, and I appeal to players to protect each other on the court."

Fu made an apology on social media after the game, stating he "will take any responsibilities."

"Please trust me, it wasn't my intention, and I would be more careful." Fu noted, "I want to sincerely apologize to Jones, the Zhejiang team and their fans."

In another game, Tremont Waters clinched 32 points to help the Southern Tigers rally past near-neighbor Loong Lions, who had forward Zhu Mingzhen scoring a season-high 24 points. Guangdong's star center Zhou Qi twisted his ankle in landing in the third quarter and sat out the rest of the game.

Elsewhere, the Zhejiang Lions thrashed the Sichuan Blue Whales 122-81 to make the visitors suffer from 15 straight losses, the Beijing Royal Fighters defeated the Tianjin Pioneers 121-112 to take its five consecutive victories, the Shanxi Loongs nosed out the Jilin Northeast Tigers 133-126 and the Xinjiang Flying Tigers cruised past the Nanjing Monkey Kings 113-94.

Also on Wednesday, CBA confirmed that the player trade window for the 2023-2024 season starts on January 20 and will close on the next day, with trades restricted to only claims of free agents and exchanges of registered players.

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