U.S. wins opener

SAPPORO, Japan – Puerto Rico was scoring so easily against the United States, maybe the Americans should have considered playing 6-against-5.

Actually, they tried that, too.

The U.S. eventually overcame a slow start that included a strange sequence in which Carmelo Anthony inbounded the ball despite being out of the game, settling down to beat Puerto Rico 111-100 on Saturday in the opening game of Group D in the world championships.

Anthony led the U.S. with 21 points. LeBron James and Kirk Hinrich each added 15 for the Americans, who found things to be much tougher than they were during a 45-point rout in an exhibition game at Las Vegas earlier this month.

“We got a slow start but we picked it up in the second half,” James said. “We were able to keep them in front of us and we got a win. It doesn’t matter how many points you win by, as long as you get a win.”

Carlos Arroyo of the Orlando Magic scored 23 points for Puerto Rico, which looked capable for much of the first half of a second straight major upset of the United States in international play. The Puerto Ricans shocked the Americans 92-73 in the opening game of the Olympics two years ago in Athens.