OAKLAND, CALIF. ? Yao Ming sold out the building, though it would be a stretch to say he brought down the house.

Yao had some good and bad moments Thursday night playing his first game in the United States, getting held to 13 points and 11 rebounds as the Chinese national team lost 84-54 to the U.S. team.

China's Zhu Fangyu, center, collides with the United States' Nick Collison. Collison was held scoreless in five minutes of the Americans' 84-54 rout of China on Thursday in Oakland, Calif.

A crowd of 19,873, many of them cheering for China, watched Yao do a little of everything positive and negative. Yao swatted six shots and denied Antonio Davis the honor of being the first American to dunk on him, but he also blew a dunk of his own and struggled when he was defended by Ben Wallace.

“When you have pitiful moments, that makes the good moments more valuable,” Yao said.

Yao finished 5-for-12 from the field, and he was unafraid to push back when the Americans tried to push him outside. He missed his only 3-point shot and committed five turnovers, but he also showed a silky touch and an 18-foot range on his turnaround jumper.

“To play against him was an eye-opening experience for me. He’s a lot better than what I thought,” Michael Finley said. “He earned our respect.”

Yao injured his right hand in the second half banging it against the backboard, although he said it wasn’t serious. He did manage to emerge unscathed after Wallace landed on top of him after Yao faked Wallace off his feet in the third quarter.

“I hope when he fell on me it didn’t hurt him much,” Yao deadpanned.

With just 8 seconds left in the game, Yao had an opportunity to challenge Jay Williams as the American player drove to the basket. Instead, he chose not to contest the shot and let Williams in for a dunk.

Finley led the U.S. team with 19 points, Shawn Marion scored 14, Jermaine O’Neal 12 and Reggie Miller 10.