The four-time Olympian dropped a game-high 35 points to go with 12 rebounds in 34 minutes as Heilongjiang broke a three-game losing streak. Fellow Opals star Liz Cambage had 24 points and 8 rebounds as her Beijing team remained second on the WCBA ladder after a 103-72 win over Shandong.
Australian Boomers swingman Brad Newley posted 13 points and 4 rebounds as his Gran Canaria recorded a low-scoring 63-56 win over Gipuzkua in Spanish ACB action, ensuring the Canary Island club remain in fourth position on the table, with a record of 9-4.
Fellow Boomers star Joe Ingles and his Maccabi Tel-Aviv made the perfect start to the Top 16 phase of Euroleague competition, defeating Turkish giants Galatasaray 90-84 as European basketball resumed this week.
Aleks Maric’s Lokomotiv Kuban begin their Top 16 campaign against fellow Russian powerhouse CSKA Moscow, with the game televised LIVE on Eurosport at Midnight (12:00am AEDT).
The wins continue to pile up for the Golden State Warriors in the NBA, with Andrew Bogut’s team recording back-to-back wins over Florida-based opposition.
Bogut had 8 points and 11 rebounds in 22 minutes on Wednesday as the Warriors easily accounted for the Orlando Magic 94-81 before a high-scoring win over the defending champion Miami Heat, 123-114 on Friday.
Patty Mills followed suit as the San Antonio Spurs split their New York road trip, with the Boomers star scorer dropping 12 points in 21 minutes during the 113-92 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday. Aron Baynes chimed in with 6 points and 3 rebounds in 8 minutes for the Spurs.
This was followed up by 8 points in 14 minutes by Mills as the Spurs suffered just their eighth defeat of the season, going down to the struggling New York Knicks 105-101 on Friday.
Young Aussie big Angus Brandt returned from injury in a big way as the Oregon State Beavers defeated Quinnipiac 76-68 on Monday. After missing the previous two games due to a knee injury, Brandt marked his return to the starting five with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
A monster double-double from Majok Majok could not stop Ball State from slipping to their eighth defeat of the college season, going down 73-68 to James Madison on Tuesday. Majok posted a season-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go with 14 rebounds in 35 minutes.
15 points and 7 rebounds from Venky Jois was not enough to stop Eastern Washington from slumping to a 74-67 loss to Weber State on Friday, while Sam Rowley (10 points and 8 rebounds) couldn’t stop Albany from going down 58-46 to Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
Cameron Bairstow and Hugh Greenwood return to the court as the New Mexico Lobos face Colorado State on Sunday LIVE on ESPN2 at 10:00am AEDT.
