Hometown hero Yao Ming returns with the Houston Rockets to delight the Chinese crowd in Beijing.
Hometown hero Yao Ming returns with the Houston Rockets to delight the Chinese crowd in Beijing.
[photo: Xinhua]
Kevin Martin chipped in with a team-high 18 points, to lead the Houston Rockets to a 91-81 victory over the New Jersey Nets at the 2010 NBA China Games in Beijing on Wednesday.
The Rockets head coach Rich Adelman looked satisfied with the result at the post-match press conference. "Yao gets better every game, and everybody wanted to come out to play a good game for him, so we were excited from the very beginning of the game," he said.
It marks the NBA's fifth set of pre-season games in China and it is the third consecutive year the NBA has played a game at the state-of-the art Wukesong Arena, featuring the return of local favorite, Chinese NBA All-Star Yao Ming.
It was the first time the Nets have competed in NBA China Games. Both the Rockets and the Nets started with powerful lineups in the game, giving the enthusiastic and huge local audience of around 17,000 a vivid taste comparable to that of watching the NBA regulars.
Yao, who is hugely popular in China and has the nickname "little giant", contributed a slam dunk in the opening quarter to loud cheers from the audience. After playing 10 minutes, the "Chinese Great Wall" was substituted for Jordan Hill.
With 11 points apiece from Kevin Martin and Aaron Brooks, the Rockets headed into the next quarter with a 10-point lead.
Under the guidance of hot-handed Brook Lopez, the Nets shot a 7-0 spurt in three minutes, managing to cut the margin to just two points at the end of the third quarter.
In the final quarter, Yao returned to the court with a midrange jumper, grabbing a total of nine points and four rebounds.
Thanks to sound performances from Jared Jeffries and Chase Budinger, the Rockets clinched the win 91-81.
