Print
Rockets, Yao win showdown between China's big men
Houston 104, Milwaukee 88
Video Recap
Box Score
Print
RSS Feed
Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer
HOUSTON -- Yao Ming concedes that he may not be regarded as China's greatest basketball talent much longer with Yi Jianlian in the NBA.
For now, there's no debate.
Before what was expected to be the largest television audience to ever watch an NBA game, Yao won the first meeting between China's two big men and carried the Rockets to a 104-88 victory Friday night over Yi and the Milwaukee Bucks.
With over 200 million fans expected to watch the action live over breakfast in China, the highly-anticipated showdown between the country's best player and its rising star proved to be worthy of the hype.
Yi scored a career-high 19 points and snagged nine rebounds in his fifth NBA game, but it was Yao who came away with the victory and the better stat line. The Rockets' five-time All-Star center scored 28 points and collected 10 rebounds, helping Houston pull away from the Bucks in the fourth quarter.
Still, Yao couldn't help gushing over Yi's potential. He even suggested that his days of being recognized as China's best player may be numbered.
"How good can he be?" asked Yao, repeating a question posed to him during Friday's post-game press conference. "I can't say that. But I think he'll be better than me."
The Bucks rookie certainly showed why he's expected to be China's next big thing in the NBA.
Showcasing his long-range shooting and athleticism, Yi scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half to rally the Bucks from a double-digit deficit. He swished a jumper with just over six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to pull Milwaukee within 84-82.
But Yao and the Rockets made sure there wouldn't be any extra drama for the millions of fans watching the game. Bonzi Wells, who had his second straight productive game with 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench, got inside for a layup and then watched Tracy McGrady can a clutch three-pointer to help the Rockets pull further away. The two buckets started a game-ending 20-6 run.
Yao, though, was the one who shouldered much of Houston's offense in the fourth quarter. He had scored 11 points in the final period as the Rockets leaned on their big man down the stretch.
"It's a luxury to have a guy 7-foot-6 who knows how to play a little bit," said Rockets star Tracy McGrady, who had 21 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. "When he is establishing his post presence like that, it's tough to beat us. We got shooters out there on the perimeter. We got a guy like Bonzi coming off the bench and giving us a spark. And that 7-foot-6 guy from Shanghai, that's a luxury to have."
The 7-footer from
Shenzhen isn't bad either.
Despite missing three of his first four shots, Yi found his rhythm in the third quarter. He drilled a couple of three-pointers and finished the period with 11 points.
Yi said he wasn't worried about how his numbers looked next to Yao's.
"I wasn't thinking about it in terms of Yi or Yao,'' Yi said. "It was the Rockets against the Bucks. I was concerned about the game."
The game turned out to be a pretty good show for the millions of fans watching in China.
The first meeting between the country's two stars was being shown on 19 different television stations in China. The NBA was even throwing a massive viewing party in downtown Beijing.
Yao didn't allow the big audience to bother him when he finally stepped onto the court.
"When I stepped on the court, I didn't think about that,'' Yao said. "All I saw was 18,000 fans here, that's it. I know that there are many in China, including my family and my friends. But when I play on the court, I focus on basketball.''
Yao actually missed his first five shots. But when he got going, he didn't slow down.
After watching Milwaukee take a one-point lead into the second quarter, Yao scored 10 points in the period by mixing baseline jumpers and jump hooks to help Houston build as much as a 14-point advantage.
During the fourth quarter, Yao picked up the scoring slack again by netting 11 points over the final 12 minutes. He even made all 14 of his free throw attempts, matching a franchise record held by Cuttino Mobley and Don Kojis.
Despite all the talk of Yao vs. Yi, the two rarely matched up against each other. The two collided on a couple of occassions, but Yao did most of his damage with Andrew Bogut guarding him.
Still, Yao maintained his stature as China's best player for at least another game.
"The big fella is a great luxury to have," Rockets forward Shane Battier said. "He wants the ball in that situation, he makes really good decisions When they double teamed, we had some shooters who were knocking down shots. It's a pretty good formula for us right now to finish games."
Notable: Tracy McGrady played 37 minutes after missing Thursday's practice with a blister on the bottom of his right foot. He said he had some extra tape on his foot for Friday's game. ... The Rockets had a record 10th straight sellout at Toyota Center. ... The Rockets have won eight straight home games over the Bucks.
