CHN - Chinese miss Yao, fall to big defeat against United States

GHANGZHOU (FIBA World Championship) - Yao Ming could only watch as Team USA rolled to another dominant performance.

Continuing their preparation for the FIBA World Championship, the United States began their trip to the Far East with a 119-73 victory over China on Monday.

Any chance China had of competing with Team USA hinged on the presence of the 2.26m Yao, who is coming off the best season of his career with the Houston Rockets. But Yao is also recovering from foot surgery and did not play in Monday's exhibition. 

Wang Zhizhi, who stands 2.15m, also missed the game due to a knee injury.

USA center Brad Miller might have found it more difficult with Yao in the line-up. He made all five of his shots, including three three-pointers, and finished with 14 points.

But China could not contend with the superior athleticism of Team USA, who penetrated for numerous dunks. LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers was the ringleader with 22 points, including five dunks.

Fellow Class of 2003 superstars Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat also penetrated at will. Anthony scored 18 points and Wade added 13 points, six rebounds, six assists and five steals.

Team USA forced 34 turnovers, including 21 steals, and shot nearly 59% from the field.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for us to grow as a team and get acclimated to playing in this time zone," Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

"To play in front of this crowd was excellent. I was happy in that we played very hard every second and we played unselfishly."

James scored 13 of his points in the first half when Team USA built a 60-37 lead. He added three dunks in the third quarter as the advantage grew to 40 points.

The margin of victory was even greater than last Thursday's 114-69 victory over Puerto Rico at Las Vegas - the first of five exhibition games.

In this one, Team USA raced to a 17-6 lead midway through the first quarter, but China went on a 7-0 run and pulled within 21-19 before James scored the last three points of the quarter.

"We just had to settle down," James said. "They were riding high off the fans. We wore them down in the second half. It's not how you start but how you finish."

Team USA took control in the second quarter, outscoring China, 36-18. Elton Brand of the Los Angeles Clippers accounted for eight of the Americans' last 13 points in the half.

"They played us tough in the first quarter and we had to give our best effort to extend the lead without some of their key players," said Brand, who finished with 13 points.

"We respect all of our opponents and we know we have to give our best effort. We're not taking any team lightly."

The third quarter started with an 18-2 run by Team USA as James drove inside for two dunks. By the end of the quarter, the Americans led, 93-53.

Team USA and China, which finished eighth at the 2004 Olympics, are in the same group at the World Championship.

The Americans should face a stiffer challenge here Tuesday when they face Brazil.

Team USA travel to Seoul to take on Lithuania on Sunday and host Korea on August 15. After those games, coach Mike Krzyzewski is expected to make two cuts to reduce the roster to 12 for the World Championship, which begins August 19.

Krzyzewski also must select a captain and revealed that James, Anthony and Wade will receive strong consideration.

By PA Sport