BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The Zhejiang Lions cruised to a 110-93 victory over the Qingdao Eagles, while the Liaoning Flying Leopards battled past the Xinjiang Flying Tigers 123-116 in an overtime thriller as the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) playoff quarterfinals tipped off on Sunday.

The Lions, the regular-season leaders, welcomed the return of star guard Sun Minghui and dominated defensively, outrebounding Qingdao 53-37. Zhejiang also performed well offensively, shooting 48.8 percent from the field and making 12 three-pointers. Qingdao fell apart in the fourth quarter after head coach Liu Weiwei was ejected for receiving his second technical foul.

Barry Brown Jr. led Zhejiang with 31 points and six assists, while Nathan Knight added 13 points and five blocks. On the Qingdao side, Wang Ruize played 41 minutes and scored a team-high 19 points. Yang Hansen contributed 14 points, five rebounds, three assists, and four blocks.

In the other quarterfinal matchup, Liaoning and Xinjiang delivered a dramatic overtime showdown, despite Xinjiang missing three key players: Zhao Rui, Li Yanzhe, and Qi Lin. The Flying Tigers kept pace with the defending champions and surged to a three-point lead late in the fourth quarter.

However, with just 3.9 seconds left on the clock, Liaoning guard Desmin Wells sank a clutch turnaround three-pointer from the baseline to force overtime.

Xinjiang, already short-handed, lost guard Xirzat Samat to fouls and saw center Montrezl Harrell ejected. They couldn't hold off Liaoning's comeback in overtime, eventually falling 123-116.

Zhao Jiwei led Liaoning with eight three-pointers en route to a team-high 33 points, while Wells finished with 29 points and six assists. For Xinjiang, Dedric Lawson scored 32 points, and Harrell added 25 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.

"A game like this, going down to the wire in overtime, wasn't something we anticipated," said Xinjiang head coach Liu Wei. "We had injuries, and some key players didn't travel to Liaoning, so we came in as challengers."

"We gave it everything we had, but Liaoning executed the small details better in the fourth quarter, and that's what we need to learn from. This game was a valuable lesson for the younger players," Liu added. "Hopefully, we can avoid injuries and come back stronger." Enditem

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