'Home team' Rockets blast Mavericks in China Games opener

With Yao Ming cheering them on, and fan-favorite Kevin Durant leading the way, the Houston Rockets capitalized on the "home-court" support they enjoyed in Macao to tame the Dallas Mavericks in the first of their NBA China Games.

With the majority of a capacity crowd at the Venetian Arena rooting for them, particularly when Yao's face showed up on the jumbotron, or whenever Durant touched the ball, the Rockets went full speed from the get-go and never slowed down, beating the Mavericks 135-117 on Friday night in the opener of two preseason games held in the Chinese special administrative region.

Houston's Turkish center Alperen Sengun showed up huge on the opening night with a triple-double of 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, while point guard Fred VanVleet made a strong comeback from a torn right ACL by scoring 17 points to go with seven assists in his first game in 17 months.

Reserve forward Tari Eason led the Rockets with 20 points and also 10 rebounds to prove to head coach Ime Udoka that he deserves more minutes off the bench, as well as a place in the conversation for the Sixth Man of the Year even before the regular season starts.