Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points to lead the United States to a 111-100 victory over Puerto Rico in Saturday's opening round of the World Basketball Championships in Japan.
Teammates LeBron James and Kirk Hinrich each added 15 points against their Group D opponent. The U.S. was down by four points midway through the second quarter before taking a 57-51 halftime lead. They put the game away early in the third quarter with a 12-2 run.
Puerto Rico's Carlos Arroyo of the NBA's Orlando Magic led his team with 23 points.
In Saturday's other first round matchups, Fadi El Khatib scored 35 points to lead Lebanon to an 82-72 win over Venezuela in Group A. Germany defeated Japan 81-70 in Group B, as Dirk Nowitzki, the star center for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, had 27 points and 10 rebounds for Germany. And, Australia upset Brazil 83-77 in Group C, thanks to Mark Worthington's 23 points.