The only thing missing was the moneyball from All-Star Saturday night, as the U.S. qualified for the Beijing Olympics with a half of three-point shooting that left heads at Thomas & Mack Center spinning like a roulette wheel.
When it was over, the U.S. had a 135-91 victory over Puerto Rico, connecting on 16 of 20 three-pointers in the second half and 8-for-8 in the third quarter. Between them, Anthony, Michael Redd and Mike Miller offered their rebuttal to one of the biggest questions about the U.S. team.
"Everybody's saying, 'We can't shoot, we have no shooters,' " said Anthony, who finished with 27 points, "and I think, this tournament, we proved that we can do everything. We can shoot. We can defend. We can score in multiple ways."
Even as the Americans sank three-pointers as if they were free throws, Puerto Rico opted to stay in its zone defense, which might as well have been the fetal position. The U.S. totaled 78 points in the 20-minute second half . . . with all of three points from Kobe Bryant.
"That's pretty crazy,'' Bryant said. "The way that they shot the ball, that was amazing."
The U.S. will play Argentina, a 91-80 winner over Brazil, for the tournament championship this afternoon. They also avenged a loss to Puerto Rico at the 2004 Olympics with 39- and 44-point drubbings in not even a week.
As hard as it was to believe, the U.S. led just 33-27 after the first quarter, with Puerto Rico guards Carlos Arroyo and Larry Ayuso combining for 19 points. Ayuso looked like the most dangerous shooter on the floor, coming off screens and tossing in three-pointers.
The U.S. lead was 15 points at halftime and swelled to 24 after Anthony triggered an 11-2 run. Redd and Miller took care of the rest, hitting 11 of 14 three-pointers in the second half and offering a reminder of why they were included on the 12-man roster.
Both players had struggled in this tournament, with Redd shooting 39.6 percent and Miller 32.5 percent before Saturday from the shorter international three-point arc. By the end of the night, though, they had the crowd on its feet with every shot.
"The thing about it, it was wide-open shots, nothing forced,'' said Redd, who had 23 points and made 7 of 8 three-pointers. "After the first shot went in, I said, 'God, thank you,' so let's go ahead and keep rolling."
With U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski shortening his rotation, Jazz guard Deron Williams sat all first half, along with Miller and Tyson Chandler. Williams checked in at the end of the third quarter with the U.S. leading by 31.
If this was the one test for the U.S. in the Americas tournament, the one game in which they had some tangible to play for, they passed with flying colors. The U.S. shot 70 percent for the game and made 23 of 36 three-pointers. The box score could have been a misprint.
"We want to get that swagger back, that Dream Team swagger back,'' Redd said. "No, we're not the Dream Team, but that dominance that we had before."
Aside from one lackluster win over Mexico, Bryant said the U.S. has played "extremely well" in the Americas tournament. At the same time, he acknowledged how hard it was to translate 40-point victories here to progress toward Olympic gold.
rsiler@sltrib.com
