MACAO, August 1, 2008 -- The U.S. Men's Senior National Team suffered what you might call their first scare on their way to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. And by that, we mean that they were leading by less than 10 points in the second half of Friday's exhibition against Lithuania at the Cotai Arena in Macao.

Lithuania scored 15 points on their first six possessions after halftime, at one point cutting the U.S. lead, which was 17 at the break and as many as 19 in the first half, down to nine, 61-52, early in the third.

"We weren't expecting it," Carmelo Anthony said after the game, "but they made a run."

"In the first half," Dwight Howard explained further, "I think we did good on their pick-and-roll. And then in the second half, they exposed us for a little bit."

But the U.S. made a counter-adjustment on their pick-and-roll defense, stopped Lithuania on five of their next six possessions, and used a 14-3 run to open the game back up.

"We kept our composure," Anthony said, "buckled down defensively in that third quarter and opened the game up."

And it never got close after that. The U.S. rolled to a 120-84 win, putting them at 3-0, with each win coming by 32 points or more, on their pre-Olympic schedule. They travel to Shanghai on Saturday for their final two exhibition games, vs. Russia on Sunday (3 a.m. ET, ESPN2) and vs. Australia on Tuesday (8 a.m. ET, ESPN2).

Lithuania, which will compete in Group A in Beijing (the U.S. is in Group B), was thought to be a stronger test than Thursday's opponent, Turkey, which did not qualify for the Olympics. And they were, in many ways. But the U.S. had answers for all of them.

Test No. 1 was Sarunas Jasikevicius, formerly of the Pacers and Warriors. He's one of the best guards in Europe and he had led Lithuania to a 94-90 win over the U.S. in the opening round in Athens four years ago, scoring 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting.

"He had a great game against us a few years ago," Kobe Bryant remembered, even though he wasn't there, "and was real brash about it, trash talking."

That sounds like a job for the designated defensive stopper, Bryant himself. "It was my responsibility to bring it to him."

"This is what I do," Bryant continued. "I knew [about Jasikevicius' Athens performance] prior to [tonight's game], they reminded me of it, so just sick the Doberman on him."

And Jasikevicius couldn't shake the Doberman, no matter how hard he tried. Bryant smothered the point guard, and Jasikevicius scored just nine points on 2-of-8 shooting. He was credited for three turnovers, but was really responsible for double that amount.

And Bryant's defense helped the U.S. avoid another quick start from their opponents. After giving up 24 points in the first quarter to Canada and 30 in the first to Turkey, the U.S. locked down Lithuania at the start Friday, holding them to just two scores on their first 14 possessions of the game to run out to a 24-5 lead.

Test No. 2 was Lithuania's frontline, featuring 6-11 Robertas Javtokas, a 2001 draft pick of the Spurs. Javtokas was solid, but was outplayed by Dwight Howard, who had 10 points and four rebounds by the end of the first quarter. Howard was active defensively, picking up three steals, and his teammates looked to get him going on the other end early on.

"I just tried to do whatever I could," Howard said. "Just run the floor and try to get open shots. They found me in good spots to score."

In addition, the U.S. did a better job on the boards than they did against Turkey, who grabbed 12 offensive rebounds Thursday. Lithuania had just three offensive boards in the first half, and just eight overall.

"I think the night before," Howard said, "the one thing that we did was try to get out early and run, instead of rebounding. I think tonight, we did a good job of staying in as a team, team rebounding and then pushing down the floor."

And not only did they win the rebounding battle, but they outscored Lithuania 70-24 in the paint.

Test No. 3 was Lithuania's zone defense. The U.S. has struggled against a two-three zone in the past, but Turkey played little zone on Thursday. After falling behind early, Lithuania played zone exclusively for the final 3 1/2 quarters.

And while the U.S. didn't get their best shots in the halfcourt, only once all night (late in the second quarter) did they go three possessions without a score. Overall, they scored on 63 percent of their possessions and shot 64 percent from the field.

They got open looks, thanks to the ability of Deron Williams and Chris Paul to penetrate the zone. As the two back-up point guards picked up seven assists apiece, Michael Redd and Dwyane Wade combined to shoot 7-for-11 from downtown, helping the game get out of hand in the second half.

When you looked at the U.S. Team's exhibition schedule, you knew this would be their toughest test. And they clearly passed it, looking more prepared for what Beijing will bring.

John Schuhmann will be covering USA Basketball through the Beijing Olympics. Send him a question or comment.