Greece ends Team USA's hopes for gold
Playing flawless offensive basketball by endlessly exploiting an American defensive weakness, Greece beat Team USA 101-95 in the FIBA World Championship semifinals Friday morning. LeBron James scored 17 points with five rebounds and a team-high five assists and co-captains Carmelo Anthony (27 points) and Dwyane Wade (19) had big offensive nights as well. The Americans' defense did them in. All that is left to play for is the bronze medal, Saturday at 6:30 a.m., as the gold medal drought stretches on. The last major international tournament the U.S. won was the 2000 Olympics, they haven't claimed the World Championship title since 1994.
Team USA led by as many as 12 points in the second quarter, but the reigning European champions turned the game by simply running a high pick-and-roll. With Theo Papaloukas (12 assists) setting it up, center Sofoklis Schortsanitis set high screens and then ran to the basket to receive entry passes.
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