BEIJING – There was no shocker this time.
Four years after getting stunned in the first game of the Olympics, the U.S. men’s basketball team showed these Games will be different with a 101-70 thrashing of host China.
The Chinese kept it close through the first 1 ½ quarters then the athleticism of the Americans proved to be too much. The U.S. team went on a 20-8 run to close out the first half, turning a 29-29 tie into a 49-37 lead, which continued to grow in the second half.
Dwyane Wade led the team with 19 points on 7-of-7 shooting from the field.
The crowd of 11,083 at the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium gave the Americans a warm welcome with a cheer almost as long and loud as their own countrymen received. Both President George W. Bush and former President George H.W. Bush were in the crowd, cheering on the team full of NBA superstars.
“I’ve never felt an environment quite like that,” said Kobe Bryant, who has played in five NBA Finals.
This team has been welcomed here. In fact, it may be more popular here than home. In the U.S. it is a complex relationship with this team of multimillionaires who some fans feel plays the game the wrong way. Here the NBA stars are embraced with unconditional love.
“This is like our second home,” center Dwight Howard said. “I’ve come to China many times and every time I come I fell like I’m at home.”
If the crowd cheers the U.S. against China, imagine how it will roar when the NBA stars play other countries. It has the potential to make every game feel like a home game.
The crowd reaction is a far cry from Athens, when they heard boos.
“Four years ago we weren’t getting cheers from nobody,” Carmelo Anthony said.
Dubbed the “Redeem Team” entering these Olympics, the Americans say they are on a mission to restore the country’s reputation as the top basketball power in the world. In Athens, the U.S. squad lost its opener to Puerto Rico on its way to a bronze medal.
USA Basketball has spent four years dissecting that loss and calculating a plan to reverse it. Everyone around the team feels the problems of ’04 have been rectified and this team is better prepared for the task of winning the gold.
“This is what we’ve been waiting for for three years,” Bryant, who had 13 points, said.
Yao Ming started the game with a 3-pointer for the Chinese, delighting the crowd. China would hit eight 3-pointers in the first half, exposing the Americans’ perimeter defense as a weakness.
The U.S. team also struggled with its own outside shooting, going 7-for-24 from beyond the arc. Even with these pimples, the U.S. still looked pretty good. Their athleticism was on display with an array of dunks and fast breaks. They outscored China 24-4 on the fast break and 60-26 in the paint.
“We sent a message,” Anthony said. “We’re coming to regain our spot.”