Fredette and Denmon help Shanghai smash Xinjiang in CBA

ZHUJI, China - Jimmer Fredette and Marcus Denmon demonstrated their prowess to fuel the Shanghai Sharks past the Xinjiang Flying Tigers 110-97 in the 2020-21 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) here on Wednesday.

Fredette notched a game-high 35 points and seven rebounds, while his fellow Denmon added 27 points. Donatas Motiejunas grabbed 31 points for Xinjiang, who was also a Shanghai player last season.

Xinjiang's defense targeting Fredette enabled the team to take a double-digit lead. Denmon helped Shanghai cut the deficit to 14-13 after replacing Fredette, but Xinjiang's better performance in rebounds and assists enlarged the gap to 28-23.

In the second quarter, Fredette was put on the court, who contributed continuous 3-pointers and jump throws to overturn Xinjiang 54-52 before the interval.

The third quarter witnessed Shanghai gradually dominate the game. In addition to the two foreign players shining like twin stars, captain Zhang Zhaoxu's easy throws under the basket played a critical part. Though Shanghai gifted Xinjiang two technical fouls, the latter did not grasp free throw opportunities, only to see the margin widen to 87-76.

After delivering a 7-0 run in the final period, Denmon and Zhang were sent to the bench due to six fouls. However, losing two main players did not affect Shanghai's attack as the team kept their advantage around 15 points until the end.

"In the last two games, we did not play at our level, but one more time we showed our personality and we deserved to win this game," said Shanghai head coach Neven Spahija.