NBA Orlando Magic's Carlos Arroyo scored 25 points to lift his
team to a 116-92 victory over the Chinese All-Star squad on
Thursday.
Dwight Howard, the Magic's star center, only played the first
half scoring 12 points.
[Photo:sina.com]
The Magic seemingly had a couple of mental lapse at the start of
the game, which was possibly due to the gritty encounter with the
Cleveland Cavaliers the previous day in Shanghai, China's economic
hub.
The Chinese squad, without its NBA star duo Yao Ming and Yi
Jianlian, managed to obtain a 12-3 lead at the beginning of first
quarter, as former Dallas Mavericks center Wang Zhizhi shot two
three-pointers.
The Magic, however, swiftly came back with quick attacks and
secured a 24-18 lead at the end of the quarter.
Howard, The first overall selection in the 2004 NBA draft,
staged his solo show in the second quarter as he scored eight
points and dominated both of the restricted areas, fueling his team
to a 64-39 lead at the end of the first half.
[Photo:sina.com]
The Chinese team came out firing in the early minutes of the
third quarter as the Magic rested the key players Howard and Jameer
Nelson.
But the NBA team pulled away again and held the lead to 92-69 at
the end of the quarter.
The two teams both displayed some acrobatic techniques in the
last quarter as Sun Yue, China's 21-year-old talented guard,
outshined the court with a powerful dunk.
[Photo:sina.com]
The Magic clinched the win in 116-92, making them the second NBA
team having encountered China since the Washington Bullets played
in 1979 in the league's debut China exhibition match.
The Magic is slated to play the Cleveland Cavaliers Saturday in
Macao.
The two NBA sides met Wednesday in Shanghai as Magic edged out
Cavaliers 90-86.
(Xinhua News Agency October 19, 2007)
