|
LAS VEGAS, Nevada: Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Michael Redd
scored 20 points apiece Friday as the USA dominated Canada 120-65 in
a Beijing Olympic basketball tune-up.
Chris Paul handed out 8 assists for the United
States, who will play two warm-up games in Macau and two more in
Shanghai before their Olympic opener in Beijing against hosts China
on August 10.
Team USA, stocked with National Basketball
Association (NBA) stars, had been practicing against a select team
of NBA players in training camp here.
Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James
injured his right ankle in a scrimmage Tuesday when he landed on the
foot of reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant.
As a result, James did not play on Friday, but
he wasn’t needed as the United States outscored Canada 34-18, in
the third quarter en route to taking a 95-56 advantage entering the
final period.
Team USA also owned a 48-14 advantage in the
paint.
“I thought for our fifth day of practice we
showed a lot of energy,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Guys are
committed to playing defense. I liked the effort we had on the
defensive end of the court.”
The United States is vying to regain
international basketball glory for the first time since claiming
Olympic gold in 2000.
Team USA was embarrassed en route to winning
bronze medals in the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2006 World
Championships.
Since then, the team has been restructured. USA
Bas-ketball hired veteran NBA executive Jerry Colangelo to build the
squad and appointed iconic Duke University coach Krzyzewski.
Players since have had to commit to Team USA for
three years to foster the kind of continuity other international
teams possess.
The move showed in the teamwork on display
Friday, including in a pair of fast breaks early in the fourth
quarter.
Jason Kidd lobbed a looping lead pass to
Anthony, who then shoveled another feed to set up a monster dunk by
Chris Bosh.
On the next possession for the Americans,
Wade—who is recovering from knee and shoulder surgeries—finished
with a spectacular windmill dunk.The US shot 66 percent from the
field, including 11-of-22 from three-point range.
-- AFP
|
