USA 94, Italy 85
SAPPORO, Japan (AP) -- As his team left the locker room at halftime trailing Italy by nine points, captain Dwyane Wade broke into song.
"I was walking out and everybody was quiet and I just started singing something that came to mind," Wade said Wednesday night. "I just came off the NBA Finals, where my team had been down a lot (two games to none). I don't ever worry about being down. And I don't want my teammates to worry about it, either."
After the game, Wade couldn't remember what he sang. But it proved to be the right tune, with the Americans surging back to beat Italy 94-85 in the FIBA world championships.
Dwyane Wade scored 26 points for the Americans, who needed less than four minutes to build their first double-digit lead and led by as many as 36. Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard had 16 points each and Chris Paul 13.
The U.S. rallied behind Carmelo Anthony, whose 35 points were the most by an American in the world championships. Kenny Anderson set the previous record of 34 in 1990.
Anthony scored 29 of his points in 19 electrifying minutes in the second half.
"When he's got it going, it's a beautiful thing because you don't know what he's going to do," Wade said. "He got it going at the right time."
Wade scored 26 points and Elton Brand added 16 as the U.S. clinched Group D. That means the U.S. will avoid Argentina or Spain, two of the tournament's powers, until the final. The Americans will play the fourth-place team in Group C on Sunday
Marco Bellinelli led Italy with 25 points while Fabio Di Bella
and Stefano Mancinelli each added 12. After routing three
overmatched opponents, the Americans were prepared for a tough test
from Italy, the group's only other unbeaten team. But they didn't
know how tough.
The Americans were lucky to be that close. Their offense, which had averaged a tournament-high 115.3 points, was sluggish from the start. The U.S. shot 39 percent in the first half, including 33 percent from 3-point range. The Americans also were dreadful from the foul line, hitting 63 percent (12-for-19).
The defense wasn't much better. Every time the U.S. tried to pressure the Italians, the ball would end up in a wide-open shooter's hands. Italy shot 58 percent in the first half, including 72 percent from inside the arc.
"Maybe they were trying it not because they think we're soft but because they think we'll lose our head or lose our cool," Wade said. "But this team, we're on a different path, a different mind-set. We're out here to win ballgames. But we're not going to be punked, either."
2006 Worlds Teams and Groups:
GROUP A: Argentina, Venezuela, France, Serbia & Montenegro, Lebanon, Nigeria
GROUP B: Spain, Panama, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Angola
GROUP C: Lithuania, Brazil, Greece, Turkey, Australia, Qatar
GROUP D: USA, Puerto Rico, Slovenia, Italy, China, Senegal
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USA 94, Italy 85; Wade leads U.S. to Victory