Team USA tops China
Posted on August 21st, 2006 by
Yao Ming is back, and the United States was ready for him.
Using a swarming defense and their huge advantage in depth to make life miserable for China and its All-Star center, the Americans rolled to a 121-90 victory Sunday night to remain unbeaten at the world championships.
“We knew that they wanted Yao to be a big factor, so we wanted to take him out and make them take difficult shots,” U.S. forward Antawn Jamison said.
Dwyane Wade scored 26 points for the Americans, who needed less than four minutes to build their first double-digit lead and led by as many as 36. Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard had 16 points each and Chris Paul 13.
LeBron James, Joe Johnson and Elton Brand all had 11 points while Paul added eight assists and Howard 11 rebounds.
“We were trying to share the basketball, share the defensive rotation and just be a team,” Brand said. “There are a lot of individuals out there, especially on their respective NBA teams. We’re trying to be a team out here, get assists and do the extra things.” #
Well looks like the promise that Yao made about being one of the 16 teams to advance is going to be tough to keep, especially since China has lost both of its opening games.
