U.S. makes the most of this court date

Beijing

The first step was a stomp. The first greeting was a slap. The first words were sung with steals, stuffs and the angriest of slam dunks.

This wasn't a game, it was a star-spangled banger.

Four years after finessing and fidgeting their way out of world power, the U.S. men began their quest for basketball redemption Sunday as bulls in China's shop.

They took a billion-person home-court advantage and turned it into a solitary voice momentarily heard above the red-clad crowd at Olympic Basketball Gymnasium.

Owww!

If the road to the regaining of U.S. world dominance has a signpost, that word would be on it.

Owww!

The prettiest basketball country in the world returned to the Olympics and its roots Sunday with a 101-70 victory over a skilled team, a giant nation and an old stereotype.

"We have made history," Kobe Bryant said after the victory over the Chinese national team, and there were signs of it everywhere.

It was previewed as potentially the most-watched game in basketball history, yet thousands of Chinese fans seemed to stop paying attention after the blowout reached full force in the third quarter.

That's what a raging, rushing, chase-you-into-the-photographers defense does.

It has been tagged as the most selfish basketball nation on Earth, but the U.S. showed teamwork intensity normally not seen at any place other than, say, Duke University.

What a difference a K makes.

Four years ago, the U.S. team selfishly blew a gold medal for the first time since it began sending NBA players to the Olympics in 1992, raising the question of whether our stars had forgotten how to play the game we invented.

Here's guessing Coach Mike Krzyzewski won't let them.

After the debacle in 2004, the Duke guy was installed as the national coach. After Sunday, he has taken a step toward becoming a national hero, his defensive schemes and unselfish culture spilling out from his quiet seat to the furious court.

Dwyane Wade was spectacular by not missing a shot in scoring 19 points, but more impressive was China's missing 28 of 41 shots from inside the three-point line.

LeBron James controlled the court with 18 points and six rebounds, but more spectacular were the U.S. team's 14 steals and four blocked shots that led to 18 Chinese turnovers.

Then there were the assists. Seven guys had them, maybe more guys than in all of 2004, the Americans poking and prodding and passing to all those nasty slams.