BEIJING - USA forward Chris Bosh ran out and blocked Greek guard Vasileios Spanoulis at the 3-point line as the buzzer sounded to end the first half of the USA-Greece men's basketball game on Thursday.
That was about the size of it for Greece at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium.
The Americans were too quick, too athletic, too determined to avenge a 2006 loss in the World Championships to let the Greeks get away with much in a 92-69 victory at the Beijing Olympics.
"A few of us felt like we needed this game to show we mean business and are serious about the gold medal," said USA guard and former Wake Forest star Chris Paul, who dished three assists in 25 minutes covering for a foul-addled Jason Kidd.
The Americans, while literally forcing most of the 25 turnovers the Greeks committed, cleared one of two big obstacles it will face in pool play.
Spain, the defending world champion and a possible opponent during the medal round, is up next.
The U.S. (3-0) and Spain (3-0) play Saturday at 10:15 a.m.
"I'm all for winning by as much as we can," USA coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "But don't confuse our margin of victory with an easy win."
The preparation may have been difficult, with so much to be gleaned from how the U.S. reacted in this important rematch. But the Americans executed so well, even easily playing through Kidd's early foul trouble, they made it look easy.
Kidd, 35, brought in to guide a fairly young U.S. team during tense moments, sat for all but 1:25 of the first half after picking up three fouls chasing Spanoulis.
That forced the U.S. to put up or shut up. After a few shaky minutes, Bosh, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade made sure it was the former.
During one stretch in the second half, the Americans seemed to cover every inch of the court.
While one was tipping away a pass or making a steal, the others were running the court waiting to finish with a quick layup or dunk.
Up 38-30, Bryant kicked off one stretch with just his second 3-pointer of the tournament, then James blocked a shot on the other end that turned into a three-point play for Bosh.
James then stole a pass and dunked on the other end. Bosh followed with another three-point play before James closed the half by saving a loose ball and laying the ball in for a score.
At the end of the half, the U.S. led by 19 and a strong, physical Greek team was reduced to looking slow and ineffective.
The Americans didn't allow the Greeks to get comfortable on offense, showing different looks throughout the game.
They short-circuited the Greek pick-and-roll, which undid them in Japan in 2006, by having their big men play zone on the backline and shadow the ballhandler so he wouldn't have a clear lane to the hoop.
Another tactic was to let their big men like Bosh, James and Dwight Howard come up and switch off of high screens and roll with whoever, guard or big man, was rubbing off the screen.
Wonder why Krzyzewski and senior men's managing director Jerry Colangelo were so insistent about getting quick versatile players with size rather than traditional big men? That's why.
The U.S. is not a big team but Bosh, who has sparked the U.S. with his defense and energy in two of three games in Beijing, said he hopes Thursday's win quieted the doubters who believe a lack of size will eventually undo this team.
"We're all aware of our lack of size," said Bosh, who scored 18 points and shared game-high scoring honors with Bryant. "Me, Dwight, and 1/8Carlos3/8 Boozer, people didn't think we could rebound and that we'd get beat outside. We just have to keep pushing and show how we can get it done."