U.S. beat China in hot ticket game
BEIJING (Reuters) - The U.S. men's basketball team overpowered Olympic hosts China 101-70 on Sunday after a pre-game huddle with President George W. Bush.
In one of the hottest ticket contests of the Beijing Games, giant Chinese centre Yao Ming triggered a deafening roar from a sellout crowd of 18,000 after scoring the opening basket.
Led by the high-flying Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, the NBA's leading scorer, the Americans stormed back to take a 49-37 halftime advantage and never looked back.
Bush had playfully bumped shoulders with the players in a court-side corridor prior to the game.
His father, former U.S. President George Bush, also greeted the American players, with Carmelo Anthony hugging him and asking, "What's up, pops?"
The blockbuster Group B opener was likely the most-viewed sporting contest ever in China, with hundreds of millions believed to be watching on television.
"This is something I will treasure as a memory for the rest of my life," Yao told reporters. "It felt great, all the flags and cheering."
Heavily defended, Yao made just three of 10 shots and finished with 13 points, while Dwyane Wade scored a game-high 19 points and James added 18 for the gold medal favorites.
CROWD ENERGY
"I had five dunks in one game -- it was amazing," said Bryant, the NBA's most valuable player. "The last time I had five dunks in a game I was 17. That's because of the energy of this crowd. You could feel the electricity. It was amazing."
Meanwhile, Argentina's defense of their Olympic title suffered a blow when they were upset 79-75 by Lithuania in Group A.
Denver Nuggets forward Linas Kleiza nailed an off-balance three-point shot with 2.1 seconds left to seal a dramatic win for the Lithuanians.
"It's very special to beat Argentina in our first game," Kleiza said. "It was definitely an important game for us. We are just a small country."
World champions Spain, in contrast, had too much firepower for Greece in their Olympic opener, rolling to an 81-66 victory in Group B.
Earlier, Dirk Nowitzki's Germany crushed Angola 95-66 in Group B, while European champions Russia thrashed Iran 71-49 and Croatia beat Australia 97-82 in Group A.
(Additional reporting by Simon Evans; Editing by Steve Ginsburg and Ralph Gowling))
