Jeremy Lin’s Beijing Ducks win on CBA’s Covid-19 return
- Team move up to third in the standings after 91-82 win over Liaoning behind closed doors in Qingdao
- NBA champion scores 13 points and serves up six assists as Ducks chase play-offs
Jeremy Lin’s Beijing Ducks returned to Chinese Basketball Association action with victory over the Liaoning Fly Leopards on Saturday.
In their first game for five months the Ducks won 91-82 behind closed doors in Qingdao, with Lin telling media he was “grateful” to play again and hoped the CBA return from its coronavirus hiatus would give other leagues confidence.
“The most important thing is we can play again,” Lin said at the pre-game press conference. “I'm grateful for CBA's efforts to give us a chance to play again.”
“The CBA League's restart means a lot to the revival of global sports, hopefully it can give confidence to other basketball leagues and players,” he added.
Lin scored 13 points and laid on six assists against Liaoning, who were without their foreign star Lance Stephenson, who has not returned to the team. Stephenson had been linked with a move to the NBA’s Indiana Pacers during the CBA’s lockdown.
NBA champion Lin, who won his ring with the Toronto Raptors last year before moving to Beijing, averaged 24.2 points and 5.8 assists in the first 30 games in China this season.