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'Just having fun' U.S. puts on dunking exhibition against Cuba
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) -- Showing the strength, speed and skills that have drawn comparisons to last year's gold medal-winning Olympians, the United States' Goodwill Games basketball team put on another dunking exhibition in beating Cuba 111-70 Wednesday. The Americans' third consecutive lopsided victory -- they won the first game by a record 74 points, the second by 30 -- put them into Saturday's semifinals. In the three victories, the Americans have averaged 113 points while allowing an average of 65. The United States' 21st victory in 22 meetings against Cuba was sealed in the first quarter when the Americans bolted to a 37-11 lead. In their first two games in the round-robin tournament, the Americans had appeared rather sluggish in the first period. This time, they came out energized and overwhelmed the winless Cubans. "We wanted to be sharp," coach Flip Saunders said about the U.S. team's first-quarter blitz. "We tried to take the game away quickly." That's exactly what the Americans did. They scored 12 straight points for a 16-2 advantage, then closed the period with an 11-1 run. The quarter featured six dunks by the Americans, including three in a row by Kenyon Martin, Baron Davis and Marcus Fizer to end the period. Andre Miller was the triggerman of the offense, setting up the plays with his pinpoint passing. Meanwhile, the Cubans couldn't penetrate against the constantly ball-sniping, tenacious defense of the aggressive Americans and continually turned over the ball. Martin led the United States with 19 points, hitting 8-of-9 field goals. "They were all dunks," he said. "I don't remember missing one shot." After one of his thundering dunks, Martin gave the signal for a goal in Australian Rules football, delighting the crowd at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Center. "I've been watching TV," Martin said of the gesture. "I was just having fun." The Americans could afford to have fun after their dominating first quarter. After that, they slowly built their lead in each quarter, increasing it to a high of 47 points in the fourth period. Shawn Marion added 15 points for the U.S., Jermaine O'Neal had 14 and Mike Miller and Shane Battier 10 apiece as all 12 players scored. Andre Miller finished with eight assists, all in the first half, and Fizer topped the rebounders with seven. The Americans outrebounded the Cubans 49-26. Juan Cantero scored 15 for Cuba. Wally Szczerbiak seemed to best sum up the Americans' domination so far. "It's not a very competitive tournament, and that makes it hard," he said. "We're just playing and having fun." "We're trying to put on a show for the fans."
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