NANJING, East China, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Dirk Nowitzki spoiled Yao Ming's first spell for the Chinese team this year when the Dallas Mavericks forward scored 27 points to lead Germany to a 82-73 win at the Stankovic Continental Champions Cup on Friday here.
The German buried 16 points in the fourth quarter to stop Chinese comeback when he also grabbed 12 rebounds.
Yao Ming, who had foot surgery during offseason, played with his national teammates for the first time after joined the team training two weeks ago.
The Houston Rockets' center scored 11 points in 21:12 minutes and only two rebounds, but boosted the team's confidence and defence to have the best game in 18 warm-ups for the upcoming world championships.
"Yao had really only five days training with the team, but he put up a great change to his teammates," China's head coach Jonas Kaslaukas said. "He gave big help to the team, especially on the board."
"He boosted the spirit of the team and I thought the team will do better with him. But his teammates are not always ready to give the ball to him," Kaslauskas added.
Kaslauskas again rested Wang Zhizhi, the first Asian playing in NBA.
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