US hoopsters thrash China by 46 points

Team USA thrashed the Chinese national team 119:73 at the China Basketball Challenge in Guangzhou Gymnasium yesterday.

China's twin towers Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets and power forward Wang Zhizhi did not play, both due to injuries, leaving the whole court almost open to the three-time Olympic gold medallists, who dominated the game without facing too much resistance.

"This is a quite good game for us," said American centre Dwight Howard. "We had the basketball competition as we wanted and all the guys really played hard. I had a lot of fun out there."

Six players recorded double digit scores for the visiting team led by LeBron James, who finished seven-of-eight from the field to pocket 22 points. His draft-mates Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade also displayed consistent play, contributing 18 and 13 points respectively.

China's small forward Du Feng led the team with 18 points, Yi Jianlian nailed 14 and Zhu Fangyu added 10. But the team's 34 turnovers and the loss of 15 offensive rebounds made the chance of catching up all but impossible.

Gong Luming, China's team manager, said he was disappointed but will take some positives from the experience. "To be frank, we had a pretty good game. I hope we are able to learn from the defeat before the World Championships," he said.

Source: China Daily