U.S. basketball team beats Spain and talks about it

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The U.S. beat Spain, 119-82, on Saturday night in Beijing Games basketball action. Here is Mark Heisler’s Los Angeles Times report. And here are a few post-game comments from U.S. players, courtesy of USA Basketball.

Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets)

‘We’re enjoying it, we are enjoying playing defense. We know that we have the best scorers in the world on our team. We can put the ball in the basket at will. But if we don’t stop nobody, we ain’t going to beat nobody. Everybody is having fun and enjoying playing defense and shutting teams down.’

‘We don’t have a starting five. I wouldn’t call us a starting five. We have five who go out there and begin the game. We’ve got... Deron Williams, Dwyane Wade coming off the bench. We’ve got a lot of players coming off the bench so I wouldn’t call us a starting [five] ... we’re just the five that begin the game.’

Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat)

‘We came out very focused knowing that Spain is a very good team. We knew we had to concentrate on the defensive end and we came out and really did what we’ve been doing and that’s pressuring them, not letting them run their offense, making them make quick decisions. Some teams are not at their best when they’re not in their comfort zone. That was our job, to take them out of the comfort zone.

‘We have so many guys, but one for me is Chris Bosh. I think he’s been unbelievable, coming in defensively and really talking. Really being a versatile big man that can stick through their switching, can switch their guards as well. He’s rebounding, he’s playing tough so I’m going to say Chris Bosh.’

-- Greg Johnson