Mikey Marshall scored 24 points, Matt Lottich had 18, Jeff Newton 16 and Naoto Nakamura 11 as the Osaka Evessa defeated the visiting Saitama Broncos 76-71 before 2,088 fans on Sunday.
With the win, the Evessa improved to 21-5, the best in the bj-league, and maintained their four-game lead over the Takamatsu Five Arrows in the Western Conference.
The Evessa held the Broncos (13-12) to 1-for-14 shooting from 3-point range. Mamadou Diouf had a team-best 22 points for Saitama. Teammate James Davis added 14 and Kazuhiro Shoji contributed 11, while Gordon James had a 10-point, 15-rebound, three-block, two-assist outing.