the Houston Rockets to an 81-71 victory over Memphis

China's Yao Ming scored 21 points with 10 rebounds Wednesday to help lift the Houston Rockets to an 81-71 victory over Memphis in the National Basketball Association season opener for both teams.

Tracy McGrady added 16 points for houston, and Ron Artest scored 16 points in his debut for the Rockets.

Memphis had a 65-64 lead with 9:06 left to play, but the Grizzlies went without a basket for more than five minutes as Houston took a 71-66 edge with 4:23 remaining.

Rafer Alston's three pointer with the shot clock ticking down extended Houston's lead to 78-71 with 37 seconds left as the Rockets won their eighth straight home opener.

the Golden State Warriors beats Bucks 109-108

Rookie forward Robert Kurz buried consecutive 3-pointers, including the beat-the-buzzer, game-winning one, to help the Golden State Warriors to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 109-108 in a preseason game on Saturday here.

The 23-year-old made the first one to tie the game on 106-106 with 24.9 seconds to go before Matt Freije's jumper put the Bucks back to the driving seat with 1.4 seconds left in the game.

Kurz, who had 11 points and four assists, received the in-bound at the top of the arc, dribbled once, and unleashed the last attempt. The Warriors bench ran onto the court to embrace him down on the ground for the celebration.

"We had two options during the last time-out, Rob was one of them. He made the open shot. It's a great shot," Warriors' assistant coach Keith Smart said.

"Rob played well today and he played well during the summer. We'll have a couple of weeks to decide the final roster. Everyone has the opportunity to stay. Rob did a great job here. He helped a great deal," Smart added.

Stephen Jackson, who missed Wednesday's game when the Warriors lost 98-94 to the Bucks in Guangzhou, China, scored 11 out of his 24 points in the first quarter for a 26-24 lead.

The Bucks' top player Michael Redd didn't play in Guangzhou either, and he answered in the second quarter when he made three 3-pointers for 12 points to give the Bucks a 60-56 lead in the first half.

Trailing by 83-80 into the fourth quarter, the Bucks tied it on89 to all and led 104-99 after a 11-0 run.

"The fans of both cities are incredible. Both teams feel like playing on the home courts. Our players want to give their thanks to the fans," Smart talked about the unusual celebration after Kurz's winning shot.

Charlie Villanueva had 26 points and eight rebounds while Redd added 23 points for the Bucks. Rookie Joe Alexander contributed 14 points.

Hornets 96-80 victory over the Washington Wizards

BERLIN, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- New Orleans Hornets cruised to a convincing 96-80 victory over the Washington Wizards in an NBA preseason game in Berlin on Tuesday.

Chris Paul had eight assists and scored four points to help the Hornets jump out to an 18-0 lead. He played the entire first and third quarters and sat out the other two, finishing with 11 assists and nine points.

Hornets coach Byron Scott said he was trying to keep Paul fresh after a long summer in which Paul helped the U.S. Olympic team win gold in Beijing.

It was the first of two games between the Hornets and Wizards in the NBA's annual preseason tour of Europe. They will meet again on Friday in Barcelona.

The injury-plagued Wizards did not score until 5 minutes into the game when Darius Songalia scored off an offensive rebound.

The Hornets built on their lead in the second quarter, relying largely on their reserves.

Hornets reserve forward Rasual Butler scored 12 points.

James Posey hit a 3-pointer as the Hornets closed the first half with a 9-0 run to take a 61-24 lead into the break.

For the Wizards, the European tour is a chance to test their rookies and learn to work with a short bench. Three key Wizards players remained in Washington to nurse injuries.

Washington outscored the Hornets 22-15 in the third quarter, led by guard DeShawn Stevenson's three 3-pointers. Stevenson hit five 3-pointers and finished with 15 points.

The Nets win over Heat 94-92

LONDON, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Vince Carter led the New Jersey Nets to a 94-92 win over the Miami Heat in an exhibition game in London on Sunday.

Eight-times NBA All-Star Carter scored 19 points in front of a sell-out crowd just three days after tweaking his hamstring during a game in Paris, the first in the NBA's Europe Live 2008 tour.

The Nets opened the first quarter with a 19-6 run but the Heat clawed back, narrowing the gap to 50-47 by halftime.

The game stayed close through the second half, Miami's Marcus Banks hitting a 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter to bring the Heat within one point at 93-92.

But Miami was unable to hang on, turning the ball over after Carter missed his second free throw with a little over a second left on the clock.

Banks and Dwayne Wade led Miami with 19 and 18 points respectively, while rookie Michael Beasley, selected second overall in the 2008 draft, finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

New Jersey's Yi Jianlian, a 7-foot forward from China, scored 17 points.

The four-game European tour also features the Washington Wizards taking on the New Orleans Hornets in Berlin on Oct. 14 and in Barcelona on Oct. 17.

Warriors defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 110-95

PORTLAND, Ore. - Kelenna Azubuike scored 18 points, all in the second half, and Brandan Wright added 16 points and the Golden State Warriors defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 110-95 Wednesday night.

Portland center Greg Oden, the first pick of the 2007 draft, scored 14 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. LaMarcus Aldridge also scored 14 points for the Blazers while Jerryd Bayless had 13.

Azubuike, who didn't play during the first half, hit 7 of 10 shots during the second half as the Warriors (1-1) rallied from a four-point halftime deficit.

Golden State, which trailed 78-77 after three quarters, outscored Portland 33-17 during the fourth quarter to pull away. Azubuike scored 11 points during the fourth quarter.

Wright scored 10 of his 16 points during the second half, and tied a team high with five rebounds. Corey Maggette added 15 points for Golden State while Andris Biedrins scored 13.

Portland guard Rudy Fernandez played 36 minutes before leaving the game late in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury. Fernandez hit 5 of 12 shots from the field and led the Blazers with 15 points.

Portland (1-1) was nowhere near as sharp against Golden State as it was during Tuesday's preseason opener, an 110-81 win over Sacramento in which the Blazers had an array of dunks and highlight-reel passes.

Portland committed 25 turnovers and shot just 36.9 percent from the field against the Warriors.

Portland took a 53-49 halftime lead during a ragged first half. Oden did most of his damage during the first half, scoring 10 points while grabbing nine rebounds.

Golden State raced to a 76-66 lead, but the Blazers came alive during the final three minutes of the quarter, outscoring the Warriors 12-1 to take a 78-77 lead into the fourth quarter.

Golden State took command of the game early in the fourth quarter, as the Warriors went on a 15-2 run to establish a 94-83 lead with seven minutes remaining.

Prior to the game, the Trail Blazers announced that guard Martell Webster suffered a left foot injury during Tuesday's game against Sacramento. An MRI confirmed that Webster has a stress fracture in the fifth metatarsal. The team said it would announce a course of treatment, which could include surgery, and a timetable for Webster's return Thursday.

Joining Webster as inactive for Wednesday's game were Steve Blake (hamstring) and Channing Frye (ankle), while guard Brandon Roy was rested and didn't play.

the Rockets edged the Memphis Grizzlies 96-93

Memphis Grizzlies' Mike Conley goes to the basket defended by Houston Rockets' Yao Ming during a preseason NBA basketball game on Tuesday in Houston. AP

The encouraging thing is Yao looked fully recovered from last season's stress fracture, moving well enough on one possession to get the rebound at one end and be the first player down the floor at the other end.

Even so, with the Grizzlies swarming around him, he struggled with his offensive game.

"I have not played a game with such high intensity for eight months," Yao said. "I did not adapt very well coming into the match, but I was much better after the third quarter."

Speaking of the hard-fought win over a less-fancied opponent, Yao said the team has to play more to improve.

"I am not satisfied with the team or myself. We could have played more aggressively. We still need time to work on team play."

He played the game's first 10 minutes, taking just one shot. The Grizzlies' Hakim Warrick blocked that attempt and Yao missed his first three shots in the third quarter, all jumpers, before getting his first field goal of the night on a jump hook in the paint with 3:17 remaining in the third quarter. He followed that with a spin move to a left-handed layup.

When he was through for the night after three quarters, he had 10 points and nine rebounds in 22 minutes.

"Anyway, it's just a first preseason match. We have time to deal with all the problems. We will play much better basketball match after this match."

For the Rockets, the most encouraging sign, perhaps, was the energetic and effective play of Carl Landry, the last player added to the Rockets roster when they matched the offer sheet he signed with the Charlotte Bobcats days before the start of training camp.

Landry led the Rockets with 18 points, making 7 of 12 shots in 23 minutes.

While much of his scoring was reminiscent of his mid-season run last season, with Landry finishing inside and often above the rim, he also hit four jumpers.

Based on the pivotal lineup from last season and with the major signing of Ron Artest, more can be expected in the new season from Houston, which has been unable to advance into the second round of the playoffs since Yao joined as the top pick in the 2002 draft.

Artest, who played for Rockets head coach Rick Adelman in Sacramento when Adelman was the Kings head coach, proved he has the ability to deliver more, as he gave the Rockets a much needed early offensive lift, scoring 12 of his 15 points in the first quarter.

Though making just one of five shots in the second half, four of 12 overall, Artest insisted he will improve and unite with the team soon.

"We still have a lot to learn and we're still learning things," Artest said. "That's why the exhibition season is good for us.

"You got to get ready for the season now. You have to get a chance, obviously, to know your teammates and see how they're going to play against other teams and see the rotations. That would be experimental. Everything else is trying to get ready for the season."

Yao gave credit to Artest in his debut for the Rockets, as well as another new face Brent Barry, an experienced guard from San Antonio Spurs.

"Artest knows very well the coach's system. He and Barry have the ability to get involved soon," Yao said. "Artest make our offense more effective while our guards could learn a lot from Barry's pass and move."