Yao Ming provided some entertaining moments in his home debut as the Houston Rockets beat the Toronto Raptors 88-76 on Saturday night.
Yao entered the game with 8:18 to go in the first quarter with fans cheering his every move. He scored his second NBA basket moments later with a hook shot and drove around Mamadoi N'diaye moments later for two points.
"I learned that in China, I've been using it for a while," Yao said of his move on N'diaye. "I saw somebody do it but I don't remember who it was."
The 2.26-meter center grabbed a deflected pass in the third quarter and slammed in a dunk. He finished with eight points, four rebounds, one block and three fouls.
"I was definitely more relaxed tonight, I was more involved," Yao said. "But there are a lot of things I have to work on."
Yao, the NBA's No. 1 overall draft choice, was scoreless in his NBA debut last Wednesday and finished with two points on 1-of-5 shooting and seven rebounds on Friday at Denver, where the Rockets beat the Nuggets 83-74.
In Shanghai, meanwhile, fans cheered Yao's home-court debut with a party in his hometown yesterday and said the No. 1 overall draft pick was destined to become a major force in the NBA.
"Pass it to Yao," shouted fans, who cheered and applauded every time the center appeared on the television screen. About 150 people turned out to watch Yao and the Rockets play the Raptors early yesterday morning in Shanghai. The game was broadcast live and shown on a projection TV in the ballroom of a downtown hotel.
"Yao is still new to the league and we all need to give him a little time to adjust," said Zhang Wei, a member of Yao's old team, the Shanghai Sharks.
"There are a billion people in China who are going to give him the biggest boost possible," said Zhang, standing beside a banner bearing Yao's picture and a greeting in Chinese that read "best of luck to Yao Ming in the NBA."
Longtime fan Ren Wenbin, 62, said Yao is already showing signs of progress.
"I was really anxious during Yao's first game because he didn't seem used to the style of play, but now it looks like he's starting to adjust," said Ren, a retired school teacher. Ren said he has been following Yao's career as a player on the national team and with the Sharks for five years.
(eastday.com November 4, 2002)
