Spurs give Yao a rowdy welcome

Spurs give Yao a rowdy welcome
Associated Press
YAO MING
SAN ANTONIO -- Yao Ming's NBA debut ended in an exhibition loss tonight, but the 7-foot-5 center's welcome to the league was a memorable one.

Seconds after entering the game and setting foot on the SBC Center court, Yao took a pass in the low post and made a decisive move to the basket. But as his outstretched right arm rose above the rim, San Antonio's Tim Duncan, the league's MVP last season, slid over and launched the newest Rocket with a hard body bump that left him sprawled on the floor.

The San Antonio crowd roared their approval of the treatment of this year's No. 1 overall draft pick.

Yao, wearing number 11, took his lumps and then made the Spurs pay for a moment of satisfaction. He calmly stepped to the line and made two soft, arching free throws that put the Rockets up 28-23.

Five minutes later, as the second quarter was winding down, Yao returned to his spot near the end of the bench. He had added a fadeaway jumper to those foul shots, helping Houston to a 44-38 halftime lead.

But the story of the game was Yao, who arrived in the United States only three days ago.

His final line: six points on 1-for-5 shooting from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line, four rebounds, four fouls and three turnovers in 13 minutes.

San Antonio battled back from an 11-point second-half deficit and won 80-79.

Duncan finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds, while Stephen Jackson scored 17 points for the Spurs. Cuttino Mobley led the Rockets with 18 points, while Steve Francis added 15 and Eddie Griffin 14.

After sitting out the third quarter, Yao replaced Griffin at 11:10 of the final quarter. Twelve seconds later, the Rockets had a point taken off the scoreboard when Yao stepped into the lane too early on a free throw by Mobley.

He made mistakes, like rifling a pass to a phantom baseline cutter, but his teammates only had encouragement for him. He leaned way down to listen to some guidance from Francis, and after he picked up his fourth personal by blocking David Robinson, guard Juaquin Hawkins gave him an impromptu footwork lesson.

With three minutes remaining, Kelvin Cato came into the game and Yao sat down for the night.

Yao was with China's national team until Oct. 13, when it was upset by South Korea in the Asian Games championship game.

After working out an agreement with the China Basketball Association that will guarantee his home country the right to bring him back for international tournaments, Yao received his visa and reported to the Rockets on Sunday.

With the regular season starting in a week, Yao still has a lot to learn to fit into Houston's offensive and defensive schemes.

As the Rockets went through their pregame workout Wednesday, coach Rudy Tomjanovich was near midcourt with Yao. The coach took strides occasionally, waved his arms around and did a lot of talking.

Yao focused intently on every word, listening first to Tomjanovich and then to Colin Pine, his official interpreter.

"(Tomjanovich) gave him a few pointers," said Pine, who competed with a number of others for the job. "But mostly he was expressing confidence in his abilities, and telling him that he was going to be a great player in this league."