NBA's Lakers, Rockets to tour Asia in October

 　　NEW YORK, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Kobe Bryant and Jeremy Lin are set to visit Asia in October with Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets for a series of exhibition games, the National Basketball Association announced on Tuesday.

　　The Lakers will play two games in China against the Golden State Warriors¹, beginning with an October 15 contest at the MasterCard Center arena². Three days later the same two teams will square off in Shanghai at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

　　Lin's Rockets will play in both China's Taiwan province and the Philippines. Houston faces the Indiana Pacers on October 13 at the Taipei Arena.

　　They start their Asia swing with an October 10 contest against the Pacers in Manila.

　　It has been just over a year since "Linsanity" gripped New York Knicks fans and propelled break-out star Lin to global fame.

　　Lin, who was born in Los Angeles, is the first American of Chinese descent to play in the NBA.

　　Bryant's Lakers will be playing for the first time in China. Five-time NBA champion Bryant has been co-authoring a blog in Chinese for several years.

　　Last month Bryant joined the Twitter-like Chinese micro-blogging site Sina Weibo, getting thousands of followers³ in just the first few hours.

　　The Lakers vs. Warriors and Rockets vs. Pacers games highlight a total of eight NBA overseas games in October.

　　They are joined by the Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Wizards and Chicago Bulls in the NBA global games schedule.

　　The Thunder will play October 5 against Fenerbahce Ulker in Istanbul and on October 8 against the 76ers in Manchester, England.

　　The Sixers also play against Uxue Bilbao Basket in Bilbao, Spain, on October 6. The Bulls and the Wizards face off in Rio de Janeiro on October 12.

1 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

2 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

3 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。