"Yi Jianlian endorses the authenticity of the cuisine in Chinatown.

"It's pretty similar [to home] because the people all come from China," said Yi, who named Tony Cheng's when asked if he had any local favorites.

Verizon Center's proximity to the restaurant has helped the Chinese big man adjust to Washington, but he's still finding his way with the Wizards (1-4), who hope he'll get an extra helping of motivation against his countryman, Yao Ming, and the Houston Rockets (1-5). Yao has won all four of their previous meetings.

"For me, nothing special," Yi said. "Maybe a lot of people watching in China."

That's an understatement, although Wednesday's game will be broadcast on regional cable in China, and won't have as wide of a distribution in China as the Wizards' Nov. 27 game against Atlanta, which will be on Chinese Central Television. More than 100 million viewers watched in 2007 when Yao and Yi faced off in the NBA for the first time.

The Wizards have turned the pair's first clash in Washington into a celebration, dubbing it Asian Heritage Night. Whether it's the occasion, the opponent, or the Wizards' struggles, head coach Flip Saunders said Yi had one of his better practices in the last few weeks on Tuesday."