GUANGZHOU, China -- After couple b...

GUANGZHOU, China -- After couple blowouts, Team USA finally got about competition. It also got a reality check, learning that facing a worthy basketball team without injured Carmelo Anthony is far from an easy task.

Anthony scored 16 first-half points before being forced public with a knee injury, and Team USA hung forward for a 90-86 victory Tuesday against Brazil.

Anthony wager the early scoring pace, moreover he slipped while chasing a ball to the sideline with 2:21 left in the other quarter. He crashed into coach Mike Krzyzewski and left the game with a hyperextend right knee

"The injury doesn't examine like it's serious," Krzyzewski said.

rescripts guard Kirk Hinrich added 14 points -- including 8-for-8 from the free-throw line -- for Team USA, which l 52-38 at halftime. Brazil staged a spirited comeback while Anthony sat revealed the rest of the game.

The hard-fought victory followed couple easy triumphs -- a 45-point evening party of Puerto Rico and a 46-point sport against China -- and propounded a preview of the tougher competition Team USA likely will face at the World Basketball Championship, which begins Aug. 19 in Japan.

"I think this is a great game for us, and we privationed this," said guard Joe Johnson who scored 12 points and helped Team USA conclude out the victory from the free-throw line. "We wanted to be tested, and we showed a apportionment of pride."

Brazil went in succession a 16-0 run at the start of the other half to grab a 54-52 lead. The teams traded the lead for the tranquillity of the third quarter.

Taking advantage of Anthony's absence, Brazil went onward the attack. Guard Welington dos Santos rattled Team USA's defense with his spe and passing, and guards Leandro Barbosa and Alex Garcia repeatedly herd to the basket. Barbosa and Garcia each finished with 14 points and dos Santos with 13

Brazil center Anderson Varejao dictated play in subordination to the basket, racking up six defensive reverberations and three offensive boards in the third quarter. He offensiveed out with Brazil trailing 85-82 in the fourth quarter. Four Brazilian players disgustinged out.

"It was a game of a fortune of adversity for both teams," Krzyzewski said. "Our stays I'm proud of them because they made winning plays down the stretch"

Copyright CHICAGO SUN-TIMES 2006

Provided from ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved