NBA: Christian Wood matches Yao Ming record as Houston Rockets begin life without James Harden
- Houston centre matches China superstar with a sixth 20-point, 10-rebound performance in first 10 games of an NBA season
- Former Fujian Sturgeons signing, who left the CBA without playing a game, joined the Rockets in November
The Houston Rockets made a losing start to life without former franchise star James Harden, falling 103-91 to the San Antonio Spurs, but centre Christian Wood matched a Yao Ming record.
Wood, who was signed by the Rockets in the close season, scored 24 points and had 18 rebounds, along with three assists and three blocks. He is averaging 23.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per game as a Rocket, significantly up on his stats last season with the Detroit Pistons.
That was Wood’s sixth game with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds since joining the Rockets and matched a franchise record set by Chinese superstar Yao.
“Christian Wood now has 6 20-point, 10-rebound games in 10 games played this season,” wrote ESPN Stats & Info on Twitter. “That ties Yao Ming (2007-08) for the most such games in a Rocket player‘s first 10 games over the last 25 seasons.”
Yao, who is now the president of the Chinese Basketball Association, played eight seasons for the Rockets after moving to Houston from China for the 2002-03 season.
He was an eight-time NBA All-Star and Hall of Famer, whose No 11 shirt was retired by the Rockets. Wood, 25, has only played 10 games for the team since joining ahead of this season.