NANJING, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Jamaal Franklin racked up 31 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists, helping Shanxi Loongs beat Nanjing Monkey Kings 96-86 in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) here on Saturday.
Shanxi has now bagged a third win in a row and stays seventh in the league standings while Nanjing drops to the 14th from 12th.
"We beat Nanjing, and one reason for this was that Young didn't play. Our players were not patient enough to play at the beginning," Shanxi coach Wang Fei said, referring to the fact that Nanjing's top shooter Joseph Young had been suspended.
Hamed Haddadi, who scored 19 points and grabbed 24 rebounds, led hosts Nanjing to prevail 34-24 in the first half. But Franklin was on fire, tallying 15 points alone in the second period.