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USA Basketball improved to 2-0 in Group D action.
(Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images) USA Breezes Past China SAPPORO, Japan, Aug. 20 -- One day after starting slowly in a victory over Puerto Rico, Team USA wasted no time finding its groove against China on Sunday. Using its defense to set up easy scoring opportunities, Team USA built a 15-point first-quarter lead on the way to an impressive 121-90 victory over China at the 2006 FIBA World Championship. Dwyane Wade had the hot hand, firing in 15 of his 26 points in the first half as USA Basketball opened up a 63-38 halftime lead. “I think this was my best performance so far," Wade said. "I’m trying to get my legs under me, coming off a long season. But I’m just out there trying to do what I can do with my teammates. Tonight I just got it going early and finished it." The U.S. did an excellent job of protecting the ball, committing just two first-half turnovers, while forcing 12 on the defensive end. The second half featured more of the same, as USA Basketball increased its advantage. Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony both fired in 16 points for Team USA, which had seven players score in double digits. “We wanted to play better than we did against Puerto Rico," Anthony said. "I think we took a huge step forward. We had to be about three times better than we were against Puerto Rico. I think we played better than we did last night. I’m not saying that Puerto Rico was a bad team. For us, we played a lot better than we did last night We knew that China was going to try to make a run.” Yao Ming scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for China before fouling out. Team USA will play three more preliminary round games in Group D. Next up for the United States is Slovenia on Tuesday at 6:30 a.m. ET on ESPN2. |
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