1st Quarter

9:30 – Yao opens with a three pointer.

Kobe’s three hits the side of the backboard.

8:45 – Dwight Howard flushes a two-hander on the break.

8:02 – Another three by China. Kid was just signed by the Lakers, apparently.

7:19 – Lebron takes it straight at Yao, who tries to draw the charge. Gets a foul instead. And one.

China has good size. They won’t be pushed around by the US.

6:41 – Step-back three by China. Followed by a turnover then a layup by China.

6:19 – Lebron gets a layup in traffic.

5:33 – Kobe was just blocked on a drive by Yao, then Bosh was stripped. China had a breakaway but Lebron pins it on the glass.

Paul’s in, along with Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade. Join Kobe and Lebron.

4:45 – Beautiful dish by Paul to Lebron for a jam. 11-11.

4:21 – Kobe hits a three in transition. Another Paul assist. NBA three.

3:52 – Wade picks China’s pocket and gets an easy jam. 16-11.

3:36 – Another three for China. They’re 4 for 4. Kobe tries to answer but misses.

3:10 – Chinese dude just owned Kobe and the entire US defense for a layup.

2:43 – Wade called for a travel? Suspect. 16-16.

China’s really, really good. They’re serious contenders. Good shooters surrounding Yao, fine. But they’ve got kids who can drive, and their shooters have size. Melo’s back in, playing at the four. Howard’s back at the five. Deron’s in at the two. Melo’s not shy.

1:05 – Wade takes his man off the dribble but gets fouled at the hoop. Converts both free throws.

0:42 – China ball with 3 on the shot clock. They miss.

0:27 – Howard on the block, converts to a flush. 20-16.

0:02.9 – Chen for China takes a horrible shot. US has the ball.

0:00 – …that was the best shot they could take? Lebron tries a running heave from beyond half. Hits the backboard. Similar to scoring. But different.

This is going to be a great game. China’s serious, they’ve got the home crowd advantage. Right now the fans are cheering for the US stars, but if this game is close down the stretch China will have all the cheers it needs.

2nd Quarter

9:44 – China opens with another 3. They’re 5 of 7 from three. 20-19.

9:30 – Deron tries to answer but misses his three. US gets the ball back. Damn. Wade drives and gets a reverse jam.

Yi Jian Lian is playing poorly. Just forced another shot.

8:49 – Howard hits two free throws. 24-19.

8:30 – Yao tries another three, misses, but China gets a layup off a US turnover.

8:04 – Lebron gets a SICK two handed rejection, outlets to Wade for a nice windmill.

7:15 – China hits another three. This kid has 9 points. China’s deep. They’re subbing a lot. Howard has 10 points on 4-4 shooting. He’s at the line again. Misses the first, hits the second.

7:04 – US is pressuring full court. They’re playing good D all around. Yao manages to hit a hook shot, though. 29-26.

6:37 – Deron’s at the point, Redd at the two. Forces a shot. Misses.

6:05 – China hits another 3 to tie the game!

5:39 – Deron can’t answer. Again. China gets called for palming.

5:28 – Kidd’s back.

5:15 – Bosh fights for an offensive board and flushes it back. Great pressure D by the US, but Kobe gets called for a foul.

4:43 – Kobe just posterizes China, then Lebron gets a steal and passes it behind the back to Kobe for another jam. This one’s open.

Craig Sager is a douche. He’s interviewing Colangelo and only talking about their failures. Thank God none of Jerry’s kids have died recently – less material for Craig to reference leading up to his drilling questions.

4:09 – China hits another three. 35-32. Kobe misses a three.

3:38 – Bosh does a pretty good job of defending Yao, but gets called for a foul.

3:23 – Lebron is a gazelle. His combination of size, speed, grace, strength, and body control is unreal. He gets a layup and the foul. It’s called intentional. Suspicious call. Misses the FT, but they get the ball back.

2:56 – Kidd threads the needle to get Bosh a nice layup in traffic.

2:29 – Kobe touch pass alley-oop to Lebron for a dunk over a Chinese guy. Misses the free throw, again. They try again after another steal, but Lebron misses, so Kobe does a boring dunk. Psht. Bosh dunks it over someone on another break after another missed three by China.

1:25 – Wade has a nice turnaround fade-away baseline jumper. 47-34.

This Wang Zhou Zhou character is very good. 49-36.

0:33.6 -Yao gets fouled again by Bosh. Boozer gets some burn.

0:03.7 – Liu Wei gets fouled on a drive by Lebron. Hits one. US timeout. 49-37.

0:01.3 – Kobe travels. Nice one.

0:00 – First half ends with China down by 12, thanks mostly to great three point shooting in the early stages of the game. They’ll have to grind it out and take better care of the ball in the second half to have a chance. Yi Jian Lian has to step it up, too. He’s playing terribly. USA’s defense on Yao is respectable, but he really is one of the best players in the world. Just containing him is an accomplishment. I suspect that Yao will chew his teammates out for sloppy play during halftime.

3rd Quarter

9:22 – Lebron gets another block.

9:12 – Kidd throws the ball away after Lebron soars for a rebound.

8:46 – Jian Lian misses again. Pick it up, boy. He’s 0-7 from the floor.

8:14 – Damn. Statement put-back dunk by Jian Lian over Lebron. Not a bad first field goal.

7:20 – Howard gets fouled again down low after China throws the ball away on the inbounds pass. 53-39.

6:39 – Lakers pickup Sun Yu Wie blocks Dwight Howard. You don’t see that often.

5:51 – Lebron gets fouled twice on the way to a dunk. Nothing called, though. 55-39.

5:07 – China’s threes aren’t falling. They need to run some plays down low. Or start driving again. Yao does just that on the next play, driving past Bosh, but gets fouled and goes to the line. Hits the first, and the second. 56-41.

4:05 – Bosh has a nice putback. 58-43.

3:44 – Lebron gets another layup off a steal. 60-43.

3:08 – Lebron hits a nice three. He’s the reason they’re winning. 63-45.

2:10 – Wade has 17 points without a single miss.

China’s missing gimmes. They’re rushing everything. And they’re playing scared right now. Those Lebron blocks have taken their toll on their confidence. Drive it, dunk it, or get fouled trying. Play like men, fellas.

1:04 – Kobe gets the biggest cheer of the night on an open dunk. 71-48.

0:23 – Nice steal and reverse by Wade. I guess what they said about China’s guards is true. It’s a shame, too, because you don’t want to waste Yao in his prime. I wonder if they can have NBA-caliber guards by London in 2012?

0:00 – End of the quarter. Might as well end the game. China gave up in the second.

4th Quarter

8:47 – Deron Williams, with the US up 74-48, tries to dunk ON Yao Ming. Full-on Statue of Liberty. Misses, but still. He tried. Boozer’s got a really nice game, too. Very smooth.

8:17 – Deron hits a nice three from the corner.

7:29 – Deron thinks he’s Wade. Has a nice up-and-under reverse layup around Yao on a break-away. China, meanwhile, can’t buy a bucket.

6:54 – Michael Redd, on the other hand, gets them for free. Hits a three to make it 84-50. That was enough for George Bush, it seems. Mission Accomplished, Mr. Bush?

6:30 – Nice dunk by Yao. Cuts it to 32.

6:09 – Redd hits another three to push it back to 35.

5:45 – Yao is grinding it down low. Gets two or three offensive boards before getting fouled. The crowd cheers his effort.

5:35 – Redd misses a three. Weird. 87-54.

5:11 – Deron threads a beautiful pass to Redd.

4:45 – Yao comes out to loud cheers.

4:16 – Garbage time and Dwight Howard is still in the game…along with Deron, Redd, and others. Where’s Tayshaun?

3:56 – Jian Lian gets his second basket on a fluke shot. Crowd cheers. Sarcastically.

3:38 – Redd’s misses are beautiful. They’re so soft and graceful. Like they were politely refused entry to the rim.

The crowd is losing it because Jian Lian’s getting some buckets in garbage time. Seriously? Yao’s on his feet pumping his fists. The score’s 91-64.

1:46 – China’s playing now the way they should have played all game. And the US is still outscoring them.

1:08 – Paul hits a three to make it 98-66. God bless the international three point line.

The US is making no effort to dial it down. They’re trying to send a message and run the score up. Or boost their stats.

0:00 – Final score: 101-70.

China showed flashes, but it’ll take 40 minutes of flashes to give the US real competition. Everyone played well, except for maybe Kidd. Kobe was only good in spurts, too, and Melo was generally invisible. Lebron dominated and the entire team fed off his energy. I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t get the MVP award next year. He really will finish his career as one of the greats.

Related posts:
Iran vs Russia, Men’s Basketball – Live blogging the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China
USA Men’s Basketball roster for the 2012 London Olympics
Movies for Men: Summer 2008
Calderon’s deal in the summer.
The anticipation is killing me.