Yi Jianlian-mania hits town

DALLAS — There’s a new fan favorite in town. Yi Jianlian made his home debut for the Dallas Mavericks midway through the fourth quarter of Friday’s rout of the Milwaukee Bucks to a rousing standing ovation.  Then, every time the 7-foot Chinese center/forward touched the ball, the sellout crowd at the American Airlines Center went nuts.  “It felt great,” Yi said. “I’m really excited to be on a championship team.”

Yi scored his first points as a Maverick on 16-foot jumper with 4:27 left. It made the score 99-69 and the crowd practically went into hysterics. He finished the game 1-of-3 from the floor and 1-of-2 at the free throw line for three points. He also managed a steal, a turnover and two fouls as the Mavs’ reserves closed out the 102-76 victory.

Yi is more accustomed to playing forward, but Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said he will play more center. Yi, more of a perimeter shooter and a physical, inside presence, said that’s fine by him. “For me, it doesn’t matter, I can play both positions,” Yi said. “I’m just going to go do my thing.”

In today’s game against the Kings, Yi played 12 minutes,  scored 5 points and added 7 rebounds.

via Yi Jianlian-mania hits town – Dallas Mavericks Blog – ESPN Dallas.

Yi makes the free-throw against Milwaukee to put Dallas over 100 points for the fan prize,
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