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Mike Chan

The long-awaited NBA China Games returned for the first time in six years on Friday evening as the Phoenix Suns overcame an 18-point deficit to beat the Brooklyn Nets 132-127 after overtime in Macau.
Four more years remain on the multi-year deal between the NBA and Sands China in the casino hub – not to mention a second game between these two teams to come on Sunday – but the league’s chief said before tip-off that the pre-season event could make a comeback in mainland China, too, in the coming years.
“Yes, games can take place in other parts of China, concurrent with our Macau arrangement,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said at a media round table, hours after he hailed a “transformational partnership” with the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).
On the 13 previous occasions when NBA pre-season games were held in the country, Macau had co-hosted only once, in 2007. But NBA China chief executive Michael Ma did not rule out Hong Kong joining its neighbour as a potential destination for these games.

“We’re looking at this part of the world, China, the Greater Bay Area, as an integral territory together to really spread around our mission to develop basketball in China,” he told the round table. “So right now, we’re focused on getting these two games here tonight and in two days from here, but in the future, we’re definitely looking at the Greater Bay Area.”
With NBA Europe, a pan-European league, expected to launch in October 2027, top NBA officials were open to the idea of an equivalent set-up coming to Asia when the time was right.
“I think in Asia, over time, maybe we’ll be able to pursue a similar concept,” Silver said. “The game in terms of individual star players is more developed across Europe than it is in Asia right now.
“But if we do our jobs the right way here in China, through our office and through our relationship with the CBA … especially given the population and the level of interest in basketball here, there’s absolutely no reason why this region of the world won’t produce top-notch players, men and women as well.”
NBA deputy commissioner and chief operating officer Mark Tatum added that the collaboration with the CBA, along with the growth in the Japanese B.League and the Korean Basketball League, could provide the ingredients for a potential pan-Asian league.
On the court at the Venetian Arena, a 9-0 lead inside the first two minutes ensured a flying start for the Nets – frequent participants in the NBA China Games, with six previous appearances as a Brooklyn or New Jersey franchise.
Listed as the home team, the Nets maintained a double-digit lead for much of the first half, paving the way for head coach Jordi Fernandez to bring Zeng Fanbo off the bench for his first taste of an NBA match, with three minutes and six seconds to go in the second quarter. The 22-year-old recorded two fouls and one steal as half-time beckoned.
The Nets saw their 71-59 first-half lead vanish after the restart as the Suns’ star player Devin Booker poured in 12 points on his own to fuel his team’s comeback.

Taking a five-point lead into the final period, the Suns traded baskets and the lead with their opponents.
Confined to the bench for much of the second half, Chinese international Zeng returned to the action with just under three minutes to go. But the Suns, who finished 11th among 15 teams from the Western Conference last season, were to deny him a debut win.
They had beaten the Los Angeles Lakers 103-81 at Palm Desert in California a week earlier. And they held on for a five-point victory here to make it two pre-season triumphs in as many outings.


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The Brooklyn Nets (in white) and the Phoenix Suns put on a show at Macau’s Venetian Arena on Friday. Photo: Karma Lo

Macau’s Venetian Arena hosts the Brooklyn Nets’ clash with the Phoenix Suns on Friday. Photo: Karma Lo

Zeng Fanbo (right) in action as he makes his Nets debut at the Venetian Arena. Photo: Karma Lo

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CBA chairman Guo Zhenming (left) and NBA commissioner Adam Silver at the signing ceremony in Macau. Photo: Mike Chan

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A woman wearing a straw hat walks pass a sign announcing the NBA China games in Macau. Photo: EPA

A tourist poses next to the NBA Championship trophy at the NBA House. Photo: AFP

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The Brooklyn Nets’ Zeng Fanbo talks to media at the Venetian Arena in Macau on Thursday. Photo: AFP

(From left) The Nets’ Ben Saraf, Tyson Etienne and Drew Timme at practice in Macau on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Sport

Basketball

China

Chinese international Zeng Fanbo makes Nets debut, but Suns recover to win the first NBA game in China in six years


Chinese international Zeng Fanbo makes Nets debut, but Suns recover to win the first NBA game in China in six years.


NBA (National Basketball Association)

Adam Silver

Devin Booker

Zeng Fanbo

NBA China Games 2025: Phoenix Suns surge back to beat Brooklyn Nets in Macau

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Chinese international Zeng Fanbo makes Nets debut, but Suns recover to win the first NBA game in China in six years

Chinese international Zeng Fanbo makes Nets debut, but Suns recover to win the first NBA game in China in six years