King James I of Uruguay
The president of Uruguay, as Bill Walton surely could tell you, is Tabare Vazquez. The king of the South American country, at least for one night, was LeBron James.
There finally was good reason to watch the second half of a U.S. game in the FIBA Americas tournament. How could you turn off the TV when James had 26 points and hit all 11 shots he took in the first half?
Forget about Carmelo Anthony's bad heel, which kept him sidelined Wednesday? Forget about the Americans' showdown Thursday against undefeated Argentina? James buried four three-pointers in the first half and was absolutely devastating on the fast break.
James returned in the second quarter with the U.S. holding just a 37-25 lead. Not surprisingly, the Americans had trouble getting in gear, with Uruguay leading five minutes in, trailing by just 10 after one quarter and staying within striking distance after that.
The star of the game to that point might even have been Atlanta's Esteban Batista, who spun baseline to beat Dwight Howard on a three-point play early and later rolled to the basket for an impressively athletic alley-oop.
James changed all that in a matter of moments. He might as well have set up a runway on the left side of the floor, with Jason Kidd hitting him for back-to-back baskets on the fast break. James then got another chance to run and finished a sweet finger-roll in the lane.
The Cavs star was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field but was far from finished. He hit one three-pointer, then stepped back on the sideline and drained another three over Leandro Garcia Morales. But Morales got off easy compared to forward Omar Galeano.
Galeano nearly wound up with the ball embedded in his forehead when he thought about going up at the rim to contest James on a ferocious dunk. He turned away from the play at the last second and James's shockwave dunk brought the U.S. bench to its feet.
The U.S. went on to win the second quarter 35-17, which James finished by assisting on a Kobe Bryant dunk and passing out of a double-team to Amare Stoudemire, who hit his second three-pointer in as many games.
Yes, James was playing against the world's 29th ranked team. But he would have been outstanding on any court against any team the way he shot and dunked and ran the floor in the first half.
The Uruguay players could have been forgiven for lining up for James' autograph after that half. He started the second half on the bench with the U.S. leading by 28.
Turns out, James wasn't coming back, though he played only 14 minutes in the first half. Mike Krzyzewski opted to rest James, Bryant, Kidd and Howard for Argentina and go with his Nos. 6-12 guys.
That meant extended minutes for Deron Williams, who played in a unit with Tayshaun Prince, Tyson Chandler, Mike Miller and Michael Redd much of the second half. Williams finished with 14 points and six assists.
The Jazz guard had a nice burst in the third quarter, hitting two three-pointers and dunking on the fast break. Williams came back and missed a deep three-pointer, though, apparently checking to see if he had a little LeBron in him.
He served up two alley-oops to Tyson Chandler in the fourth quarter as the U.S. went on to the 118-79 demolition. Aside from those plays, Williams has consistently looked for his shooters, though Redd and Miller have struggled to connect from beyond the arc.
What we learned from Walton: That Uruguay now has the second most transparent and least corrupt government in South America after Chile. Not long ago, Uruguay had a staggering number of political prisoners, or so Walton told viewers.
The games get interesting Thursday with the U.S. and Argentina, the world's two top ranked teams. Argentina is playing in this tournament without the likes of Manu Ginobili, Fabricio Oberto or Andres Nocioni.
One other thing: James is now 14 of 20 from three-point range in this tournament. The three-point arc is only 20 feet, 6 inches in international play but remember James has been just a career 32.7 percent three-point shooter in the NBA. It's scary to think what he could do with that jumper.
--Ross Siler
There finally was good reason to watch the second half of a U.S. game in the FIBA Americas tournament. How could you turn off the TV when James had 26 points and hit all 11 shots he took in the first half?
Forget about Carmelo Anthony's bad heel, which kept him sidelined Wednesday? Forget about the Americans' showdown Thursday against undefeated Argentina? James buried four three-pointers in the first half and was absolutely devastating on the fast break.
James returned in the second quarter with the U.S. holding just a 37-25 lead. Not surprisingly, the Americans had trouble getting in gear, with Uruguay leading five minutes in, trailing by just 10 after one quarter and staying within striking distance after that.
The star of the game to that point might even have been Atlanta's Esteban Batista, who spun baseline to beat Dwight Howard on a three-point play early and later rolled to the basket for an impressively athletic alley-oop.
James changed all that in a matter of moments. He might as well have set up a runway on the left side of the floor, with Jason Kidd hitting him for back-to-back baskets on the fast break. James then got another chance to run and finished a sweet finger-roll in the lane.
The Cavs star was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field but was far from finished. He hit one three-pointer, then stepped back on the sideline and drained another three over Leandro Garcia Morales. But Morales got off easy compared to forward Omar Galeano.
Galeano nearly wound up with the ball embedded in his forehead when he thought about going up at the rim to contest James on a ferocious dunk. He turned away from the play at the last second and James's shockwave dunk brought the U.S. bench to its feet.
The U.S. went on to win the second quarter 35-17, which James finished by assisting on a Kobe Bryant dunk and passing out of a double-team to Amare Stoudemire, who hit his second three-pointer in as many games.
Yes, James was playing against the world's 29th ranked team. But he would have been outstanding on any court against any team the way he shot and dunked and ran the floor in the first half.
The Uruguay players could have been forgiven for lining up for James' autograph after that half. He started the second half on the bench with the U.S. leading by 28.
Turns out, James wasn't coming back, though he played only 14 minutes in the first half. Mike Krzyzewski opted to rest James, Bryant, Kidd and Howard for Argentina and go with his Nos. 6-12 guys.
That meant extended minutes for Deron Williams, who played in a unit with Tayshaun Prince, Tyson Chandler, Mike Miller and Michael Redd much of the second half. Williams finished with 14 points and six assists.
The Jazz guard had a nice burst in the third quarter, hitting two three-pointers and dunking on the fast break. Williams came back and missed a deep three-pointer, though, apparently checking to see if he had a little LeBron in him.
He served up two alley-oops to Tyson Chandler in the fourth quarter as the U.S. went on to the 118-79 demolition. Aside from those plays, Williams has consistently looked for his shooters, though Redd and Miller have struggled to connect from beyond the arc.
What we learned from Walton: That Uruguay now has the second most transparent and least corrupt government in South America after Chile. Not long ago, Uruguay had a staggering number of political prisoners, or so Walton told viewers.
The games get interesting Thursday with the U.S. and Argentina, the world's two top ranked teams. Argentina is playing in this tournament without the likes of Manu Ginobili, Fabricio Oberto or Andres Nocioni.
One other thing: James is now 14 of 20 from three-point range in this tournament. The three-point arc is only 20 feet, 6 inches in international play but remember James has been just a career 32.7 percent three-point shooter in the NBA. It's scary to think what he could do with that jumper.
--Ross Siler
11:45 PM
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