Las Vegas – It wasn’t quite “40 minutes of hell.” But it was the best anyone has done yet against the United States.
Nolan Richardson’s Mexico team kept the game respectable into the second half before the Americans pulled away for a 127-100 victory Monday night in the second round of the FIBA Americas tournament.
Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points, tying the American record in an Olympic qualifier. The Nuggets forward had 16 points in a sensational opening quarter, when the Americans shot 80 percent from the field.
But the Richardson-coached Mexicans, who sneaked into the second round through a three-team tiebreaker, outplayed their more talented counterparts for much of the next two periods before the U.S. put them away for good late in the third.
Kobe Bryant added 21 points, and LeBron James and Dwight Howard scored 19 apiece for Team USA.
The Americans play Puerto Rico tonight.
PUERTO RICO 97, BRAZIL 75: Puerto Rico came up with an impressive victory over Brazil. Larry Ayuso had 24 points for Puerto Rico (1-3), and Peter John Ramos and Filiberto Rivera both scored 14 points.
ARGENTINA 86, VENEZUELA 63: Carlos Delfino had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Argentina hit 14 3-pointers in a rout of Venezuela. Argentina (4-0) finished the four- game first round shooting 42.3 percent from 3-point range, second only to Team USA’s 48.4 percent.
CANADA 95, URUGUAY 88: Jesse Young scored 22 points, Levon Kendall had nine points and nine rebounds and Samuel Dalembert had 10 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots to lead Canada (2-2).
