By Jenny Dial Creech
Corey Brewer sat on the bench, fidgeting, his heart pounding.
He was wearing a new uniform – white with No. 33 in bright red.
He watched as his new team, the Rockets, ran the floor, waiting for his name to be called.
With 4:23 in the first quarter, it happened. Coach Kevin McHale subbed Brewer in while a full house at Toyota Center went wild.
“I had butterflies,” Brewer, 28, said. “I was like, ‘Wow, I can’t wait to get in the game.’ When I got in the game, I was like, ‘Don’t mess up; don’t mess up.’ ”
Once the ball was in play, the jitters faded.
“I was out there, and all I had to do was play basketball,” he said. “I just had to play.”
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