Rockets’ Zhou Qi making most of playing time

Zhou Qi was happy to spend his days working on his game, going through extra drills before practice, getting up extra shots after. Getting a chance to play on Saturday was better.

Zhou played with the benches cleared, getting his first NBA playing time in the Rockets rout of the Mavericks. He had three rebounds and blocked a shot in his seven minutes, but missed his only shot, most to roars of the Toyota Center crowd.

Zhou Qi preseason highlights:

“I was very excited,” Zhou said. “It was my first time officially getting onto the NBA court. I was so excited, but I was also surprised that this time came so soon.

Zhou had played in the preseason and extensively with the Rockets summer league team, but a regular-season game, even with the benches cleared, was a very different challenge.

“It’s definitely a huge difference because your teammates and your competitors are stronger than summer league and the preseason.

“I’m getting better right know and more adapted to the pace of the game and training. I’m getting better at merging to the whole team. I like the city and I like the country.”

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