Yi Watch: Day 52

Dirk Nowitzki's 30 points propelled Germany to a 76-71 win over Yi Jianlian's Chinese team this afternoon in Mannheim, Germany. Yi scored 23 before fouling out late in the game, while Wang Zhizhi led China with 28. While it was the second loss in three days for the Chinese, they acquitted themselves much better than in their 88-55 loss on Friday, when they were playing less than 24 hours after flying halfway around the world.

In other news, the latest (probably false) rumor from the Chinese media is that Yi at one point was wearing a gray Bucks shirt on the Chinese team's flight to Germany. Yi and his teammates were all wearing their national team gear by the time they landed, so take it with a grain of salt, but there you go. Larry Harris and Larry Krystkowiak presented Yi with a bunch of Bucks gear at their meeting in Vegas in July.

Yi and company next head to Turkey for an eight team tournament starting August 22. Ersan Ilyasova will be playing for the hosts.