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LeBron Leads U.S. By Turkey

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The Associated Press

Published: August 1, 2008

MACAU - Any team with Kobe Bryant and LeBron James in the lineup is going to score.

Sure enough, the United States had no problem doing so in the first quarter Thursday - but neither did Turkey. The Americans didn't pull away until their offensive superstars decided to be defensive stoppers.

James scored 20 points and was a defensive force in his exhibition debut, helping the U.S. Olympic team overcome some early sloppy play to beat Turkey 114-82 in its first game in China.

James and Bryant both finished with five steals, leading a defensive effort that had 16 of them.

"We love defense as a team because we have a lot of guys who can get at it defensively, cause some havoc and make a lot of plays," guard Dwyane Wade said.

James made them on both ends of the floor.

The NBA's leading scorer was 8-for-9 from the field and finished with six rebounds, five steals and four assists in 23 minutes, sitting out the fourth quarter.

Bryant was only 1-for-5 for seven points but had seven assists with his five steals.
Carmelo Anthony added 17 points and Dwight Howard had some powerful dunks while finishing with 14 for the Americans, who shot 69.5 percent (41 of 59) from the field.

They allowed 10 field goals in the first quarter, then only 10 combined in the next two periods. They improved to 2-0 in Olympic tuneup play and face Lithuania here today before moving on to Shanghai for their remaining two games.

"I think the first quarter was an adjustment period for us, we were getting used to what they were running, what their sets were," Bryant said. "The second quarter we did a much better job of locking in and taking those away."

James sprained his right ankle when he stepped on another player's foot during a scrimmage early last week.

RUSSIAN DRUG SCANDAL: With only one week to go before the Beijing Olympics, Russia suddenly has its own version of a BALCO doping scandal involving some of the track team's biggest stars.

After a 1 1/2 -year investigation, the IAAF provisionally suspended seven female Russian athletes Thursday, accusing them of tampering with their urine samples. The list includes Yelena Soboleva, a world record-holder and world champion middle-distance runner who was favored to win the 800 and 1,500 meters at the Olympics.

SHARAPOVA OUT: World No. 3 Maria Sharapova will miss the Beijing Games because of a right shoulder injury.

The three-time Grand Slam singles champion said on her Web site Thursday that an MRI exam and other medical tests showed she has two small tears in tendons in her shoulder.

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