HOUSTON - Yao Ming thinks Yi Jianlian will be a better player than him some day.

For now, Yao still is the king of basketball in China.

Yao and Yi each had their share of highlights in the much-anticipated first matchup of the country's greatest player and its top rising star, and Yao's Houston Rockets beat Yi's Milwaukee Bucks 104-88 on Friday night.

Milwaukee Bucks Yi Jianlian (L) of China and Houston Rockets' Yao Ming (R) battle for position in the fourth quarter of their NBA basketball game November 9, 2007. The Rockets beat the Bucks 104-88. [Agencies] Yao, the five-time All-Star, had 28 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. Yi, the 20-year-old rookie, had 19 points and nine rebounds.

"His talent is unbelievable," Yao said. "You ask me how good he can be? I can't say that. But I think he'll be better than me."

When asked why he thought Yi would surpass him in the future, Yao thought for a moment.

"I'm older," Yao said with a smile.

The game was an enormous event in China, where it started early Saturday morning. It was being broadcast on 19 television networks and NBA officials were expecting the largest-ever viewing audience for a game, well over 200 million.

The duo did their best to forget about the magnitude of the game back home.

"When I stepped on the court, I didn't think about that," Yao said. "All I saw was 18,000 fans here, that's it. I know that there are many in China, my family and my friends. But when I play on the court, I focus on basketball."

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