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Nene Hilario was booed by some fans as his Washington Wizards slipped to an 83-81 loss late on Saturday to Chicago Bulls in the first NBA matchup in Rio. |
Giant centre Nene, who hails from Sao Paulo, managed five points and six rebounds in a 20-minute cameo. But taking the microphone to thank fans for coming he found himself the target of some booing.
There is little love lost between Brazilian fans and their NBA star after he skipped the recent Copa America, where Brazil flopped and went winless.
Former Brazilian star Oscar Schmidt explained: “We need a better Brazil team. But unfortunately, if NBA stars don’t show up we shall never beat anyone.”
The 13,500 crowd was disappointed as Bulls’ Derrick Rose didn’t make the encounter as he bids to return from knee surgery. Also sitting it out was Joakim Noah, nursing a groin strain.
Bulls were 44-35 to the good by half time at the HSBC Arena, slated to host Olympic gymnastics at the 2016 Rio Games.
After the third quarter they led 73-62 with Taj Gibson on his way to a match-high 18 points.
Adding to the atmosphere were the Wizards Girls cheer leading troupe, while mascots Benny of Bulls and rival counterpart G-Wiz kept the kids entertained on what was children’s day in Brazil.
Top tickets for the chance to see top US teams in the flesh went for $1000. Wizards closed the arrears to 79-77 with 5m 41 left on the clock. But Gibson was unerring with two free shots to ensure the win. Bradley Beal top scored with 16 for Wizards.
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, who saw Rose replacement Kirk Hinrich land eight points, lauded the Rio public. “Coming here was an honour and a privilege. We absolutely loved it.”
Bulls moved to 3-0 preseason with the win while Wizards slid to 0-2. Asian-American NBA star Jeremy Lin and teammate James Harden joined hands yesterday to help the Houston Rockets beat the Indiana Pacers 107-98 in an NBA preseason game held in Taipei, Lin’s ancestral home. As a point guard, Lin scored 17 points in his 34-minute play while centre Harden contributed 21 points in a game that drew a sell-out crowd of more than 13,000 fans at the Taipei Arena statidum. When Lin had to quit just a few minutes before the close of the game, local fans gave him a thundering applause.
“I’m happy with the result. After all, we won. Playing (basketball) here is crazy. Fans are noisy and passionate,” Lin said in Mandarin Chinese at a press conference. Houston coach Kevin McHale added: “The atmosphere was unbelievable. Yes, it was definitely Jeremy Lin’s home court. He played very well.” “The last week to 10 days he’s been very, very good in our games and our practices. I think he’s really comfortable with who he is. He’s in a good state of mind”, McHale said.
The 25-year-old, whose parents are Taiwanese, has become a sporting hero on the island since he shot to stardom in the NBA with the New York Knicks early last year, sparking a global following known as “Linsanity”.
Lin, who was later traded to Houston, had a mixed performance in his first full NBA season that saw the Rockets eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
McHale said he could understand the tremendous pressure on Lin after he swiftly rose to his fame and emerged as the basketball icon in Asia and elsewhere in the world. “He is a great young man, he worked out very hard this summer,” McHale said, in his reference to Lin’s step-up training, including in shooting where he has sometimes struggled, after his first full-year with NBA.
NBA commissioner David Stern on Saturday hailed Lin’s success as a “true milestone”, saying Lin had been “adopted by all countries in Asia as their very own” after the two NBA team’s successful exhibition game in Manila last week.