Final
Rockets beat Nets 91-81, Yao plays 19 minutes
Oct 13, 2010 - 5:08 PM By ANITA CHANG Associated Press WriterBEIJING (AP) -- Yao Ming played only 19 minutes while easing back from foot surgery, scoring nine points and delighting his home fans as the Houston Rockets defeated the New Jersey Nets 91-81 in a preseason game Wednesday.
Yao was naturally the center of attention for the noisy, sellout crowd of 17,000 at Wukesong Arena - the Beijing Olympics basketball venue - even though he played sparingly and finished with four rebounds.
"Everything is geared toward letting me hold up longer," said Yao, who admitted he was reluctantly getting used to it the limited minutes. "Even little kids know, vegetables might not taste very good, but they're good for you and healthy, that's how it is."
After sitting out last season following surgery to repair a broken bone in his foot, Yao frequently jogged down the court while his teammates raced ahead. But there were also flashes of his soft touch, flicking the ball into the net above a swarm of defenders.
"We're just trying to bring him along slowly but he's gotten better every game. We're very pleased with what's happening," Houston coach Rick Adelman said.
Adelman said he planned to allow the center to play 24 minutes in one of their final two preseason games before their Oct. 26 season-opener against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kevin Martin scored 18 points and Aaron Brooks added 17 to lead Houston in the opener of the fifth set of NBA preseason games in China. The Rockets and Nets will play again Saturday, when they mark the debut of the Guangzhou International Sports Arena.
Brook Lopez led New Jersey with 22 points, while Terrence Williams came off the bench to add 20 points and Devin Harris had 19. Harris also had seven of the Nets' 11 assists.
Houston led 53-42 at the half.
The Nets almost caught up in the third, using a 10-2 run to pull to 69-67 by the end of the quarter.
"Our ball movement needs to improve," Nets coach Avery Johnson said. "We're a team that takes pride on swinging the basketball and we didn't swing it enough tonight."
The Rockets led for nearly the entire game. They jumped out to an early lead, finishing the first quarter ahead 33-23.
The NBA has been aggressive in expanding to China, beginning in 2004, when it became the first American professional sports league to play games there. The Rockets and Sacramento Kings played a pair of games in Shanghai and Beijing that season.
- NBA
NEW JERSEY 81
HOUSTON 91 FINAL
Oct 13 10:21 AM - NBA
NEW JERSEY 67
HOUSTON 69 END, 3RD QTR
Oct 13 9:50 AM - NBA
NEW JERSEY 42
HOUSTON 53 HALFTIME
Oct 13 9:12 AM - NBA
END 1ST QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
NEW JERSEY 23 23
HOUSTON 33 33 END 1ST QTR
HIGH SCORERS AFTER 1ST QUARTER
NJN - DEVIN HARRIS 7, BROOK LOPEZ 7, TERRENCE
WILLIAMS 6
HOU - AARON BROOKS 11, KEVIN MARTIN 11, CHASE
BUDINGER 3
Oct 13 8:38 AM
Related News
- NBA Injury Updates: Karl Anthony Towns and Ben Simmons to Miss Significant Time Mar 7
- Knicks Robbed By Late Call on Jalen Brunson Feb 13
- Brooklyn Nets vs. Detroit Pistons preview: Pistons try to avoid history Dec 26
- Houston Rockets vs. Indiana Pacers game preview Dec 26
- Kevin Ollie enjoying his new role with Brooklyn Nets as assistant coach ... and motivator Dec 25
- Dennis Smith Jr. return brings instant benefits to Brooklyn Nets Dec 25
- 3 Takeaways from Brooklyn Nets historic victory over Detroit Pistons Dec 24
- Alperen Sengun’s career night lifts Rockets over Pelicans 106-104 Dec 24
- Brooklyn Nets let Detroit Pistons wilt, win 126-115 Dec 23
- LISTEN: Kiss Of Death, Episode 70: Regular Season Game 27 - Rockets defeat Pelicans Dec 23
- Joe Harris returns to the Barclays Center under bittersweet circumstances Dec 23
- NBA Live Thread: Detroit Pistons at Brooklyn Nets, 7:30 PM ET Dec 23