In front of a boisterous crowd that was very supportive of the U.S. Team but decidedly pro-China once the game began, the Americans survived some early hot shooting from the hosts to post a comfortable 101-70 victory.

The U.S. was not without its issues, ones that we've seen before. They shot poorly from the perimeter and allowed China to grab 13 offensive boards. They also got burned a few times when they gambled defensively away from the basket. But their superior talent, athleticism and depth won out. And overall, they were strong defensively and impossible to stop in transition, which is how they've been for the last few weeks.

Of course, it was a storybook beginning to the game, as Yao Ming opened the scoring with a pick-and-pop three from the top of the key. A couple of more China threes, a couple of U.S. turnovers and a fast break later, and China led 11-7. But some pressure defense from the Americans brought on a cold spell for China and Dwyane Wade capped a 9-0 run with a steal and dunk, putting the U.S. up five with less than four minutes to go in the first.

At times, the U.S. was overaggressive defensively up top. And at times, China was able to go on short runs by going 8-for-16 from three point range in the first half. On the other end of the floor, the U.S. got a little long-ball happy (they shot 1-for-12 from beyond the arc in the first half). So, the game was interesting for about 15 minutes of game action, with the score tied at 29 midway through the second quarter.

"I think in the first half it was just a matter of us kind of settling down," Kobe Bryant said afterward, believing that the slow start may have just been some first-game jitters. "I mean, this is a moment we have been waiting for for three years."

And following China's little run in the second, the U.S. was able to force three straight turnovers with some pressure defense and go on a 16-3 run to take control of the game for good. After turning the ball over five times in the first, their only turnover in the second came with 1.3 seconds to go in the half.

They took care of the ball and they cut down on their defensive mistakes. They put the game away in the third quarter by forcing seven turnovers and stopping China on 15 of their 20 possessions in the period, which allowed them to get out and run. With China did a poor job of getting back on defense, they even ran on made baskets.

"In the second half we tightened up our defense," Deron Williams said. "We forced a lot of turnovers and made it difficult for them to run their offense."

Yao never really got comfortable offensively, shooting just 2-for-9 from the field after that initial three, but he did finish with a double-double, 13 points and 10 boards. Meanwhile, the Nets' Yi Jianlian, until he picked up a few garbage-time buckets, was hesitant and uneasy all night.

Wade led all scorers with 19 points on a perfect 7-for-7 from the field and 5-for-5 from the line. He continues to be the U.S. Team's most potent and most consistent offensive weapon.

And LeBron James continues to be their best all-around player. He finished with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while adding six boards, three assists and three blocks, including one where he snatched a Chinese shot right out of the air before firing the ball down to Wade for a dunk on the other end.

That was one of many highlights that also included both Bryant and James emphatically dunking on Bryant's newest teammate, Sun Yue, in the second quarter. Bryant also guarded Sun from the opening tip, holding him to just eight points on 3-of-8 shooting.

But Bryant wasn't much better from the field, shooting 6-for-14 for the game and hitting just one of his seven attempts from downtown. He has not been very consistent offensively since the U.S. Team arrived in China.

And while they didn't need him tonight against the host country, the U.S. Team will need him down the line. They'll also need to shoot better as a team, as teams will continue to play zone against them, like China did after the first quarter. For the game, the U.S. shot 7-for-24 from beyond the arc.

"We obviously feel like we can improve in several areas," Bryant said, "but we're happy with the way we played tonight."

There are kinks to be ironed out for sure. But they've got time to do that as they wade their way through pool play and fine tune things for the one-and-done, eight-team bracket.

Tonight's game was far from perfect, but there's time to get closer.

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