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ESPN
Tim Duncan shot 8-for-10 from the field, Elton Brand scored 17 points and the United States dominated the second half to beat Brazil 110-76 on Wednesday night in its opener at the FIBA-Americas Olympic qualifying tournament.
There were some nervous moments for the Americans in the first half as they were sloppy with the ball, failed to defend the 3-point line and fell behind by as many as 10 points. But the U.S. team closed the half with an 11-5 run, then outscored Brazil 29-8 in the third quarter to turn it into a blowout.
Duncan finished with 17 points, Vince Carter had 14, Ray Allen 13, Tracy McGrady 15 , Mike Bibby 11 and Allen Iverson 10
Originally posted by killdickvital
They said the American kids don't have the discipline or fundamental skills to make it over there.
Originally posted by Osobad28
if we lose this year its pathetic.
Associated Press
Steve Nash led the way as Canada outplayed and outscored the United States in the first quarter, but Nash stayed on the bench for the rest of the game Monday night in what eventually became a 111-71 victory for the Americans.
The U.S. team, playing without leading scorer Tracy McGrady (sprained back), outscored Canada 30-11 in the second quarter to take control for good. Allen Iverson made seven 3-pointers in the third quarter and finished with 28 points -- the most by any American in this tournament.
Next up for the Americans is a game at 5 p.m. ET Tuesday against Argentina, the nation that last summer became the first team to defeat a U.S. team comprised of professional players.
Some have nicknamed this year's American squad the "Redeem Team", and this will be their first chance to avenge one of the losses from last summer's World Championships when they finished a disappointing sixth.
ESPN
Strange things happen at international basketball tournaments, and there were plenty of them -- including Mexico being within five points of the U.S. team in the second half -- on a wacky Wednesday at the Tournament of the Americas.
Mexico, which lost by 74 points to a team of U.S. professionals at the 2001 Goodwill Games, trailed just 52-47 early in the third quarter as the Americans had their sloppiest game of the Olympic qualifying tournament but won 96-69.
The most shocking thing about the Mexico-U.S. game was that it didn't become a blowout until the fourth quarter. Mexico led 26-19 after one quarter, surrendered a 13-0 run in the second quarter and never truly had a chance to win in the second half.
The top two highlights of the Mexico-U.S. game came in the second quarter, with Vince Carter responsible for both.
First, Carter soared high in the air under the basket and blocked a shot by plucking it out of the air. Carter reacted as though he expected goaltending to be called, but the referees let play continue.
Carter then threw down a vicious, two-handed tomahawk dunk off a pass from Kidd to complete the 13-0 run that gave the Americans a 45-33 lead.
Tim Duncan led the U.S. team with 16 points.
Originally posted by Fox Mulder
As much as I love basketball, I can't believe there's a lot of people that would actually buy that pay-per-view package. I sure didn't.