BEIJING, China - The excitement surrounding New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin is providing a fresh impetus to the NBAs lucrative China business in the wake of Yao Mings retirement, the head of the leagues China operations said Friday. authenticbillsshop.com/Preston-Brown-Bills-Jersey . The Harvard graduates stunning rise this month is spurring further growth in viewership and merchandise sales that soared during the years Yao played with the Houston Rockets, NBA China CEO David Shoemaker said in an interview. The leagues Beijing office is working hard to nurture the frenzy surrounding Lin, whose parents were born in Taiwan. That includes ensuring Knicks games are as accessible as possible, providing online content, and using social media to stir the discussion, Shoemaker said. "What weve seen, the huge enthusiasm and the frenzy around Jeremy is just serving to act as a further catalyst to grow the sport of basketball and to grow the NBA in China in a very short period," Shoemaker said. Chinas enthusiasm for basketball and the NBA has held strong despite Yaos retirement and China remains the leagues biggest market outside North America, according to NBA China, which doesnt provide revenue figures. Even the countrys vice-president and designated future leader, Xi Jinping, recently said he enjoys watching NBA games in his spare time. Twenty-five years after the league partnered with state broadcaster CCTV, the audience for NBA games on television and online has risen 39 per cent this year over the last season, the NBA says. The league also claims 41 million followers on Weibo, including many who pay for its premium service, along with 25,000 points of sale in shops and online. Despite that, the league is struggling to get jerseys into stores to satisfy demand for all things Lin, whose followers on Chinas Twitter-like microblogging service, Weibo, have soared this week from 150,000 to 1.4 million by Friday. Lin, who wasnt recruited by any university and was cut by two teams before joining the Knicks, wasnt on many fans radar before this month, but Shoemaker said the NBA in China had been keeping an eye on him for a while. Still, the "Linsanity" phenomenon has been as breathtaking to him as to anyone. "Were caught up witnessing what we see globally as a passion for sport, really a love of the underdog story and the global appeal for the NBA and thats all come through in spades in a short period of time, in about 10 days," he said. Preston Brown Kids Jersey . Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau made the announcement on Sunday, a day after Gibson made 28 saves in his playoff debut in a 2-0, Game 4 victory. authenticbillsshop.com/Sammy-Watkins-Bills-Jersey . Numbers Game looks into the Wild getting Matt Moulson from Buffalo. The Wild Get: LW Matt Moulson and LW Cody McCormick. CHICAGO -- Playoff appearances were rare enough for the Washington Wizards let alone series victories. Never mind all that now. John Wall finished with 24 points, Nene scored 20, and the Wizards beat the Chicago Bulls 75-69 on Tuesday night to clinch their first-round series in five games. Bradley Beal scored 17 points, and the fifth-seeded Wizards advanced in the post-season for just the third time since the 1970s. They will meet Indiana or Atlanta in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Hawks lead the series 3-2. Its a huge step for a franchise that hadnt been to the post-season since 2008, but with Wall and Beal leading the way, they won 44 games during the regular season. "It just shows our continued growth," Beal said. "We played great basketball in this series and we can only continue to get better and better." As for the Bulls? "It is real disappointing," Taj Gibson said. "We put so much work into the season, came out of countless holes." The Wizards turned a halftime tie into a nine-point lead heading into the fourth quarter and hung on down the stretch. Chicagos comeback chances took a big hit early in the final quarter when Gibson crumbled to the court clutching his left ankle after he tried to block a layup by Wall with the Wizards up by six points. He had to be helped off the court and did not return. The Bulls got within three points in the closing minutes but couldnt grab rebounds when they needed them, particularly after D.J. Augustin hit two free throws to make it 72-69 with 2:18 left. The Wizards grabbed three offensive rebounds while whittling more than a minute off the clock before Beal threw the ball away with a minute left in the game. Carlos Boozer missed on a drive, but the Bulls couldnt convert after a shot-clock violation by Washington with 22.4 seconds left. Chicagos Jimmy Butler missed on a layup off the inbounds, and the Wizards caught a break after Andre Miller missed two free throws. Nene tracked down the loose ball and Beal hit the first free throw to make it 73-69 with 14.6 seconds left before missing the second. But Nene got another rebound, and that led to two free throws by Wall with 7.8 seconds remaining. Nene was back to wreaking havoc after serving a one-game suspension for grabbing Butlers head, whether he was knocking down jumpers or sscoring inside. Ross Cockrell Womens Jersey. . He hit 10 of 17 shots and grabbed seven rebounds. Wall also had seven boards and hit 9 of 11 free throws. Marcin Gortat grabbed 13 rebounds, and the Wizards did something they have rarely done the past three-and-a-half decades -- they moved on. The playoffs have mostly been one-and-done affairs for them -- with a few exceptions -- since they lost to Seattle in the 1979 Finals. They knocked off New Jersey 2-0 in the first round in 1982 and took out Chicago in six games in 2005. In this series, they showed a resolve and killer instinct that wasnt always there in the regular season. "The main thing is to focus in and know what this team is capable of," Wall said. "I just give a lot of credit to my teammates and the coaching staff and the great game plan and making adjustments and committing ourselves to play on every given night." For the Bulls, a season that unfolded in ways they never envisioned is finally over. They expected to challenge Miami for supremacy in the Eastern Conference with Derrick Rose back after sitting out last season, only to lose their star to another season-ending knee injury. As if that wasnt enough, they traded away one of their top remaining players in Luol Deng yet somehow squeezed out 48 victories. No team in the East won more games after New Years Eve, either, but slow starts and poor shooting plagued them in this series. Butler and Kirk Hinrich scored 16 points each and Gibson had 12 for the Bulls. Joakim Noah, whose left knee has bothering him the past few months, added 18 rebounds and seven assists. Boozer, a candidate to be amnestied, added 10 points and nine rebounds in what might have been his final appearance for Chicago. The Wizards outscored the Bulls 20-11 in the third quarter to turn a 41-41 halftime tie into a 61-52 lead going into the fourth. "I am proud of this team," Noah said. "I am proud of the way we competed all year. We dealt with a lot. Whenever a season is over it is always tough." NOTES: The Wizards outrebounded the Bulls 49-43 overall and 15-8 in the fourth quarter. ... Nene declined comment about his suspension at the Wizards shootaround, saying, "I dont want to talk about that." ... Gibson on his injury: "Real painful. I got to see what they (the medical staff) say tomorrow." ' ' '