MACAU (AP) -Carlos Arroyo scored 25 points to lead the Orlando Magic past the China all-Stars 116-92 in an exhibition game Thursday at the casino city of Macau.
The game might have been closer if China’s roster included the country’s two biggest stars: Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets and Yi Jianlian, a 7-foot power forward with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Both players were busy with their own preseason schedules and couldn’t fly to the game at the Venetian Resort Hotel.
“Obviously that gives them two very talented NBA-caliber guys, so the entire game changes,” Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said of Yao and Yi.
Magic center Dwight Howard scored 12 points in 13 minutes. He said the team was tired after traveling by bus and plane to Macau from Shanghai, where the Magic beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in an exhibition game Wednesday night.
“It was pretty tough, especially getting in (to Macau) this morning around 5:36 a.m., not being able to sleep until 8 or 9 a.m.,” he said.
The China all-Stars, which included some foreign players from the country’s professional league, had a strong start, hitting three 3-pointers in the first eight minutes.
“I think they got off to a great start,” Van Gundy said. “They attacked the basket.”
But the outsized Chinese went cold, and the Magic took control the rest of the game. Pat Garrity – who finished with eight points – sparked the run with two three-pointers to give Orlando a 24-18 lead after the first quarter.
By halftime, the Magic had a 64-39 edge and increased it to 92-69 in the third period.
Forward Hedo Turkoglu scored 17 points, James Augustine 14 and Dwight Howard 12 for Orlando.
Olumide Oyedeji led China with 25 points. The Nigerian center was a second-round draft pick by the Seattle Supersonics in 2000. Wang Zhizhi added 16 points.
Orlando will play the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday in Macau, known as Asia’s Las Vegas. The former Portuguese enclave returned to Chinese rule in 1999.
Add A Comment