BEIJING, Dec. 17 -- Xinjiang and the guest team Beijing had a back-and-forth thriller before the defending champions pulled out a 105-98 victory in Saturday's 17th round of CBA.

Xinjiang and Beijing went basket-for-basket in the first nine minutes of the game till the home team managed to close the first quarter with 25-17. The defending champions got out to a 11-point lead in the opening phase of the second quarter, but found themselves troubled by their opponents' tight defense. Beijing leveled the score with 44-44 before the interval and reclaimed the lead in the third quarter with its foreign players' phenomenon performance.

The last quarter was no less exciting with the defending champions hanging around right up until the final minutes. In the end, Xinjiang forced Beijing into several turnovers and nailed a tough victory. Darius Adams from Xinjiang had 44 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists.

Elsewhere tonight, Liaoning, the powerhouse of the league, lost to Shenzhen with 89-92, as Li Xiaoxu missed the last shot. Shanghai trounced Shandong 128-111 thanks to Jimmer Fredette's 50 points. Guangdong overcame Zhejiang 108-102. Qingdao won over Tongxi 95-91. Jilin beat Guangzhou 139-132. Fujian edged Sichuan 105-103.

After seventeen rounds, Guangsha, Liaoning, Shandong and Jiangsu tie for the first place on standings with an indentical record of 13 victories and 4 losses.

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