Yao Not Enough
Posted on August 11th, 2006 by
Yao Ming returned after a four-month layoff from a foot injury, revitalizing China in an 82-73 loss to Dirk Nowitzki and Germany on Friday in a warmup game leading to the world championships.
Yao scored 11 points but was no match for Nowitzki, who gave the Houston Rockets center a playful slap on the chest at the start. Nowitzki finished with 27 points, including 18 in the final quarter, and 12 rebounds. The German star of the Dallas Mavericks scored nearly at will against Yao and almost every other Chinese player.
Yao provided an early spark, drawing a big cheer from the home crowd with a slam at the beginning of the first quarter. With the Houston Rockets’ center on the floor, China was a completely different team from the one that was routed 119-73 by the United States on Monday. The world championships begin Aug. 19. #
Even though Dirk Nowitzki completely owned the entire Chinese team, it was at least closer than the thrashing China got without Yao against team USA.
