USA - Cavaliers, Magic to play exhibition games in China in October
The Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic will play a pair of exhibition games in China in October as the National Basketball Association stages preseason games in the country for the second time in four years
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The Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic will play a pair of exhibition games in China in October as the National Basketball Association stages preseason games in the country for the second time in four years.
The Cavaliers, led by All-Star LeBron James, face the Magic on Oct. 17 at Shanghai's Qizhong Forest Sport City arena. The two will meet again three days later in Macau at the Venetian Macau.
The Magic will also face China's Men's National team in an exhibition game on Oct. 18 in Macau, the league said in a press release.
The NBA became the first American professional sports league to stage games in the world's most populous nation in 2004 when Yao Ming and his Houston Rockets teammates faced the Sacramento Kings in Shanghai and Beijing.
The NBA's popularity has risen in the country since Yao joined the league as the top pick in the 2002 draft. NBA retail sales in China are expected to rise by more than 50 percent this year, the league said last week.
NBA players will participate in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.