Kings beat Rockets 91-89 in NBA Beijing game
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-10-17 16:58

Bobby Jackson hit a pair of late three-pointers Sunday to lift the Sacramento Kings to a 91-89 preseason victory over the Houston Rockets, as the NBA wrapped up its first games in China.

Chinese player Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets (right) fights for the ball with Sacramento Kings ' Brad Miller during their NBA preseason game in Beijing, the Chinese on Sunday, Oct. 17, 2004. Sacramento won Houston 91-89 and Yao scored 13 points. [newsphoto]

Chinese star Yao Ming had 13 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, one block but 5 turn-overs for the Rockets in a 27-minute showup before the passionate 17,900 fans of Beijing, the city where he spent more than six months a year before entering NBA in 2002..

The Rockets were 10 points up in the second quarter, but the Kings swiftly caught up. They pulled ahead in the third quarter, as Sacramento guard Mike Bibby intercepted a Houston pass and shoveled it to Kevin Martin for the slam dunk.

``They were just a lot quicker to the ball in the second half than we were,'' said Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy. ``Yao had five of our 22 turnovers, so turnovers were a problem for everybody.''

Houson's Juwan Howard was the game's top scorer with 15 points, Tracy McGrady, the NBA's two season top scorer, added 14 besides 4 boards and 4 assists.

Chris Webber scored 12 points for Sacramento, including 10 out of 24 points for the Kings in the first quarter, while Brad Miller shouldered with Jackson as the Kings' leading scorers with 13.
Peja Stojakovic, Kevin Martin and David Bluthenthal added 10 points each.

Yao's former teammate at the Shanghai Sharks, Liu Wei failed to repeat the flying performance in his NBA debut in Shanghai on Thursday when the Rockets squeezed past the Kings 88-86.

The China's latest NBA hopeful, who was called to the Kings' training camp after the Olympics in Athens, failed to score a point in 10 minutes on the court, attempting to shoot once and having rebound and steal each.

Chinese basketball fans show off posters of Yao Ming together with other Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings stars prior to the NBA China Games in Beijing, October 17, 2004. The Kings thrilled a raucous Chinese crowd in a pre-season 91-89 thriller over the Rockets, ending the NBA's first-ever games in the world's most populous nation [AFP]

Houston's coach Jeff Van Gundy said: "we lost energy after second quarter because of turnovers, and that's the problem to everybody today. They were quicker than us on the second half."

Houston won the NBA's first China exhibition match in Shanghai on Thursday, beating Sacramento 88-86.

In Beijing, fans packed the 17,903-seat Capital Stadium, which was refurbished for the NBA visit. They waved Yao Ming banners and portraits and chanted his name even when he was on the bench.

``These two games have provided Chinese basketball fans with a special opportunity to experience the passion of NBA basketball,'' Yao said. ``As for NBA marketing, I believe that is something Chinese businesspeople should learn from.''

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