Sapporo, Japan – One day Carmelo Anthony leads the U.S. in scoring. The next game, it’s Dwyane Wade’s turn.
Wade scored 26 points Sunday night to lead the U.S. to a 121-90 rout of Yao Ming and China, the Americans’ second victory in as many games at the FIBA world championships.
“We have to be unselfish because of the caliber of players that we have,” captain LeBron James said. “There’s no reason for us to be selfish. Guys can make shots. I go out there to be unselfish and it kind of rubs off on everybody else. That’s the kind of team that we have.”
James averaged 31.4 points per game last season for Cleveland.
He’s averaging 13 in the first two games here.
“The dimensions we have on our team, I don’t need to score at all,” said James, who has eight assists in two games.
The Americans have averaged 116 points against lightweights Puerto Rico and China without relying on any single player.
Anthony scored a team-high 21 points in the opening 111-100 victory over Puerto Rico, and nine of the 11 Americans who played scored at least two baskets.
Sunday night, Wade had 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting. And he didn’t even start.
The U.S. spread the ball around from the start. Shane Battier, who took only two shots in the opener, opened the game with a 3-pointer from the corner, then drove for a basket.
Dwight Howard made two free throws. Then Anthony and Chris Paul each hit 15-footers.
The only starter who didn’t score in the first four minutes was James.
“We’ve got 12 guys on this team who can make shots,” Anthony said.
The only players who didn’t score were Chris Bosh, who missed two shots, and Brad Miller, who didn’t shoot.
For many of the Americans, the team-first attitude represents a change from the NBA.
“There are a lot of individuals out there, especially on their respective NBA teams,” forward Elton Brand said. “So we’re trying to be a team out here and get assists and do the extra things.”
Yao played 27 minutes before fouling out with a team-high 21 points for China.
As the blowout wore on, the U.S. brought the otherwise sedate Sapporo Arena crowd to its feet with a series of slam dunks.
“We take the shots the defense gives us,” Battier said. “We want to attack.”
United States 32 31 32 26 – 121
China 17 21 24 28 – 90
UNITED STATES
James 5-10 1-1 11, Battier 2-5 0-0 5, Howard 4-10 8-11 16, Anthony 6-15 3-3 16, Paul 4-6 4-5 13, Johnson 4-8 2-2 11, Hinrich 2-3 1-2 6, Jamison 1-5 0-0 3, Wade 9-13 8-9 26, Bosh 0-2 3-4 3, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Brand 4-8 3-3 11. Totals 41-85 33-40 121.
CHINA
Wang Z. 1-2 0-0 2, Wang S. 6-14 0-0 17, Yao 5-8 11-13 21, Liu 3-3 1-2 8, Zhu 3-6 0-0 9, Chen 2-6 1-2 6, Zhang Q. 0-2 0-0 0, Sun 0-2 2-2 2, Zhang S. 1-2 0-0 2, Yi 5-10 3-4 13, Mo 1-3 0-0 3, Du 2-8 1-2 7. Totals 29-66 19-25 90.
3-point goals – U.S. 6-20 (Hinrich 1-1, Paul 1-2, Anthony 1-3, Johnson 1-4, Jamison 1-4, Battier 1-4, Wade 0-1, Bosh 0-1), China 13-31 (Wang S. 5-12, Zhu 3-5, Du 2-4, Chen 1-1, Liu 1-1, Mo 1-3, Yi 0-1, Sun 0-2, Zhang Q. 0-2). Fouled out – Yao. Rebounds – U.S. 46 (Howard 11), China 37 (Yao 10). Assists – U.S. 23 (Paul 8), China 17 (Sun 5). Total fouls – U.S. 20, China 28. A – N/A.
