Chinese internet giant Tencent has quietly resumed broadcasts of NBA games less than a week after blacklisting the US basketball association due to disagreement over freedom of speech.

Tensions arose between China and the NBA last week after the general manager of Houston Rockets showed his support for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong and then the boss of the American basketball league promised to protect his employees' right to free speech.

Tencent - which owns the exclusive digital streaming rights for the NBA in China - last Tuesday announced to stop airing the league's exhibition games to express its dissatisfaction towards the NBA.

But Chinese fans were surprised to discover the popular online broadcaster yesterday showed two preseason games live - without formally announcing the resumption of the service.

Anti-NBA sentiment erupted in China last week after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey showed support for pro-democracy protests. Two previously scheduled preseason games between the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets were played in China as planned. Pictured, the two teams played in the packed Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai on October 10

Tencent owns the exclusive digital streaming rights for the NBA in China. It announced to halt the broadcasts of the China games last Tuesday in dissatisfaction, but has resumed the service

The news came as LeBron James, arguably one of the biggest voice in the league, said the Rockets general manager 'wasn't educated' on Hong Kong and should have kept his mouth shut.

Two live sessions were aired by Tencent early yesterday morning: one between the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls and the other between Israeli club Maccabi Haifa and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Tencent had just signed a five-year deal, reported to be worth $1.5 billion (£1.2 billion), with the basketball association for the rights to air live games online in July.

It charges viewers pay up to 60 yuan (£6.7, $8.4) a month to watch NBA games.

China's state broadcaster CCTV, which owns the TV broadcasting right - had also halted its broadcasts of NBA preseason games in China. It remains unclear if it will air other preseason games.

LeBron James, arguably one of the biggest voice in the NBA, said the general manager of Houston Rockets 'wasn't educated' on Hong Kong and should have kept his mouth shut

Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA, last week backed the NBA executive's tweet and promised to protect his employees' right to free speech - remarks that further angered Beijing

Some viewers accused Tencent of surrendering to the NBA too soon.

On China's Twitter-like Weibo, one person slammed the website: 'CCTV has stopped the broadcasts, but Tencent is still showing… If we are not even willing to give up and ban basketball games, once [the same situation] escalates to the level of national security, it will be scary [to think]...'

Another user called for a boycott against Tencent: 'Keep your money and stop paying for the subscription.'

A third commentator urged: 'Give one star to [Tencent's] app.'

Other fans defended Tencent as they argued it would be acceptable to watch the NBA games apart from those featuring Houston Rockets.

One such supporter said: 'It's impossible not to watch the NBA. A ban on the NBA would equal to the act of forcing all Apple phone users to throw away their phones and start using Huawei. I like watching the NBA. Why can't I watch it?'

Another person seconded: 'The problem came from the Rockets, not the entire NBA. I think this is reasonable.'

A third fan explained that Tencent had never announced to ban all of the NBA games: 'Tencent said in its statement that they would only halt the games in China.'

Chinese web users have raised questions after discovering Tencent is airing the NBA games again without making any announcement. Pictured, fans reach out to players after a preseason game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets in Shenzhen on October 12

A series of Chinese companies have announced to cut their ties with the NBA. Pictured, a Chinese flag is seen placed on merchandise in the NBA flagship store in Beijing on October 9

China's Foreign Ministry declined to answer if Beijing had approved the broadcasts by Tencent.

Spokesperson Gengshuang claimed that the Foreign Ministry 'normally does not make comments on commercial activities of certain companies'.

But he said: 'Sports exchange has always played a positive role in improving the China-US friendship and promoting the development of the two nations' bilateral relations.'

He added: 'No matter it is in China, the United States or other places in the world, an important prerequisite for exchanges and collaborations is mutual respect.'

MailOnline has reached out to Tencent for comment over the matter.

Chinese workers are seen ripping down an NBA billboard advertisement last Wednesday after the nation's state broadcasters vowed not to air this week's preseason games in China

Anti-NBA sentiment erupted in China last week after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey showed support for pro-democracy protests in the former British colony on Twitter, which is blocked in China.

The now-deleted post showed an image captioned 'Fight for Freedom; Stand with Hong Kong'.

His Tweet caused an instant outrage in China because the country views the pro-democracy unrest as a 'separatist movement' masterminded by 'Western forces'.

It also took place before the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets were scheduled to play two exhibition games in China.

Morey deleted his tweet and apologised to 'Rockets fans and friends of mine in China'.

In a statement, the NBA called Morey's post 'regrettable.'

'I did not intend my tweet to cause any offence to Rockets fans and friends of mine in China,' Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey (pictured) tweeted as he apologised to Beijing

Morey's initial tweet included an image captioned: 'Fight For Freedom. Stand With Hong Kong'

Rockets guard James Harden almost immediately apologised to China even though he had not publicly expressed any views previously on the matter.

But Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA, backed Morey's initial tweet and promised to protect his employees' right to free speech - remarks that further angered Beijing.

As a result, NBA preseason games were banned by broadcasters, Chinese companies pulled their sponsorship from the NBA and Rockets' merchandise was removed from shops nationwide.

The two Nets-Lakers games appeared to be in jeopardy in the aftermath of Morey's tweet, but they were played in Shanghai and Shenzhen as planned, although several media events, including player availability, were cancelled.

James Harden and Russell Westbrook apologise to Beijing through the press after their team's general manager Morey lent his support to anti-government protesters in Hong Kong

LeBron James believed Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey 'was either misinformed or not really educated on the situation' when he tweeted in support of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests.

The Los Angeles Lakers superstar broke his silence as the team returned home from a week-long tour of China which has been dominated by backlash at Morey's incendiary tweet.

'Yes, we do have freedom of speech,' James said.

'But at times, there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you're not thinking about others, when you only think about yourself. I don't want to get into a word or sentence feud with Daryl Morey, but I believe he wasn't educated on the situation at hand, and he spoke.'