SHENZHEN, China -- With a couple minutes remaining in pregame warmups, LeBron James made his way from the court to the Los Angeles Lakers' bench. He sat down, closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.
After a long week in China where the NBA's burgeoning business in the Far East was tested nearly to its breaking point, it was time, quite simply, to play a basketball game.
It was Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey's since-deleted tweet supporting Hong Kong protesters that sparked the turmoil that exists between the league and China.