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Team USA Downs Puerto Rico In Exhibition, 114-69
8/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Team USA defeated Puerto Rico 114-69 in a spirted exhibition Thursday here at the Thomas & Mack Center, exacting some revenge over a loss in the 2004 Olympics. Duke's Shane Battier and Elton Brand were both on the court as the US started a 19-2 run to end the first half after being down by four points.
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Dwyane Wade had just thrown down the last in a series of dunks by the U.S. team, and he could think of only one way to celebrate it.
Jogging back downcourt during the third quarter of the U.S. team's 114-69 rout of Puerto Rico on Thursday, Wade turned and saluted a group of American soldiers sitting in the front row.
Wade and his teammates weren't trying to show up the Puerto Ricans. They just wanted to make sure some special fans were enjoying a very good show.
"We weren't out there to talk, even though after we made some spectacular plays it may have looked like we were celebrating," Wade said. "We were just saluting the soldiers that were there. We were showing our respect."
And along the way, they earned some back by overwhelming an opponent that had embarrassed them last time they met.
Puerto Rico's 92-73 upset at the 2004 Olympics was perhaps the lowest moment in U.S. basketball history, and it was followed by two more losses in Athens. A revamped USA Basketball changed the way it went about selecting players, with Thursday's game being the first since the adoption of a national team program that features a three-year commitment.
So far, so good.
"We know what kind of team they have," said Puerto Rico guard Carlos Arroyo, who plays for the Orlando Magic. "They are definitely a different team than what they showed two years ago at the Olympics."
The Americans certainly look better defensively. They forced 25 turnovers that led to a 41-4 advantage in points, and when Puerto Rico could get a shot off it was usually contested _ LeBron James blocked one so hard during the first quarter that the ball ended up being caught by one of the soldiers.
The Puerto Ricans actually had a four-point lead early in the second quarter before they were buried under a 31-2 run spanning halftime.
"We started a little frantic, but we finished well and it was a good test for us," U.S. guard Gilbert Arenas said. "We settled down, played defense and got after it. They had 26 points in the first period and then we blew the game open."
Carmelo Anthony scored 18 points, Antawn Jamison added 16 and Wade had 14 for the Americans, who'll meet Puerto Rico again on Aug. 19, in the opening game of the world championships in Sapporo, Japan.
James and Joe Johnson each added 10 points for the U.S. while teaming for one of the game's highlight plays.
It was a mostly impressive effort from the U.S. team, trying to get back on top of the basketball world after disappointing performances in the last two international competitions: a third-place finish in '04 following a sixth-place showing in the 2002 worlds.
Arroyo led Puerto Rico with 16 points. Daniel Santiago, Roberto Hatton and Rick Apodaca each added 12 for Puerto Rico, which shot 35.8 percent (19-of-53).
Cheered on by a group of flag-waving fans at the Thomas & Mack Center, Puerto Rico pulled ahead 33-29 while the Americans went scoreless for more than 3 minutes to open the second quarter. But the U.S. held Puerto Rico to one field goal over the final 7 minutes, closing the half with a 19-2 surge to take a 48-35 lead.
"Puerto Rico played a great first quarter and they made adjustments to go against our pressure defense. They were really good," U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Then our guys made some adjustments, not overextending themselves, and we were really good."
Getting easy baskets after turnovers, the Americans opened the second half with a 12-0 run, highlighted when James dunked and drew a foul after a steal by Johnson, to open a 60-35 bulge with 8:12 remaining in the third quarter.
Wade added his dunk and salute a few minutes later _ and the troops weren't the only ones who liked what they saw.
"Sometimes, I've got the best seat in the house," Jamison said. "Seeing Dwyane Wade get up like that with the windmill was pretty nice. I like the intensity that LeBron brought. Watching those guys set the tone, it made you want to go out there and play up to that level."
Getting mostly dunks, the U.S. shot 70 percent (14-of-20) in the third quarter to build an 83-48 lead. After allowing 26 points in the first quarter, the Americans gave up a total of 22 in the middle two.
The Puerto Ricans have slipped since their upset in Athens, splitting their eight regional qualifying games last year and needing a wild-card invitation from FIBA just to make it to Japan.
But they came out seriously Thursday. Coach Julio Toro was hit with a technical foul barely 1 1/2 minutes into the game after arguing a carrying violation.
The game closed the second of two training camp sessions for the U.S. team on the campus of UNLV. The Americans were scheduled to depart Friday for China, where they will play exhibitions next week against China and Brazil, followed by additional training and two more games in South Korea.
The U.S. team is bringing 14 players to Asia after Amare Stoudemire was sent home earlier Thursday to continue rehabbing his knee and attend to the impending birth of a child. The roster must be reduced to 12 before the start of the world championships.
PUERTO RICO (69)
Ramos 2-5 3-6 7, Reyes 0-0 0-0 0, Hatton 3-6 6-7 12, Arroyo 4-10 7-8 16, Apodaca 3-7 4-4 12, Dalmau 1-4 1-1 3, Ayuso 2-5 0-0 4, Latimer 0-1 0-0 0, Figueroa 0-2 0-0 0, Narvaez 0-0 3-4 3, Lee 0-5 0-0 0, Santiago 4-8 4-7 12. Totals 19-53 28-37 69.
USA (114)
James 4-6 2-3 10, Anthony 6-9 4-5 18, Bosh 0-3 3-4 3, Wade 6-10 1-2 14, Paul 1-3 3-3 5, Johnson 4-7 1-1 10, Hinrich 3-7 0-0 7, Jamison 6-11 1-2 16, Battier 1-2 0-0 3, Arenas 2-6 3-3 9, Bowen 0-2 0-0 0, Miller 3-4 2-2 8, Brand 3-8 0-0 6, Howard 2-3 1-2 5. Totals 41-81 21-27 114.
Puerto Rico 26 9 13 21 69
USA 29 19 35 31 110
3-Point Goals - Puerto Rico 3-14 (Apodaca 2-4, Arroyo 1-4, Dalmau 0-1, Ayuso 0-1, Figueroa 0-2, Lee 0-2), USA 11-31 (Jamison 3-7, Anthony 2-3, Arenas 2-4, Battier 1-1, Wade 1-2, Johnson 1-4, Hinrich 1-4, James 0-1, Miller 0-1, Bosh 0-1, Paul 0-1, Bowen 0-2). Fouled Out - None. Rebounds - Puerto Rico 34 (Ramos 6), USA 48 (Howard 10). Assists - Puerto Rico 6 (Arroyo 2, Dalmau 2), USA 26 (Paul 8). Total Fouls - Puerto Rico 27, USA 32. Technical - Puerto Rico bench. A - 18,218.
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