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James stars in comfortable win

Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James put on a show worthy of Las Vegas on Wednesday, scoring 26 points in the US' 118-79 victory over Uruguay in the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament.

Uruguay had the temerity to take an early lead, but the US quickly erased it and led by more than 30 points for most of the second half.

They forced 16 turnovers and shot 64 percent to remain unbeaten in the tournament.

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James played just 14 minutes and led five US players in double figures. Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns added 19 points, Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz chipped in 14 and Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant 13.

"I think today was great," said James, who was 11-of-11 from the field including 4-of-4 from three-point range. "We want to continue to improve. We don't want to take any steps back."

Meanwhile, Argentina needed overtime to beat Brazil 86-79 and remain undefeated.

The defending Olympic champions trailed by double digits in the second half but persevered to force overtime and ultimately seize the victory.

Luis Scola of the Houston Rockets, and guard Leonardo Gutierrez each had five points in overtime, including a 3-pointer by Gutierrez with 2:33 to play to give Argentina the lead for good.

"It was satisfying to beat a very good Brazil team," Argentina coach Sergio Hernandez said. "When things weren't good, we stayed together and showed patience."

raptor

Scola scored 23 points, Gutierrez added 19 and Carlos Delfino of the Toronto Raptors netted 17.

Like the US, Argentina had qualified for the semi-finals on Tuesday.

Brazil have dropped three of their last four games, but were still in position to reach the semi-finals if they beat Uruguay yesterday.

The two finalists from this 10-nation tournament will book their berths for next year's Olympics.

The teams finishing third through fifth will have another chance to qualify next July.

Canada inched closer to a semi-final place with a 97-80 victory over Mexico. They were due to face Puerto Rico yesterday, who routed Venezuela 92-63 to keep their slim hopes of advancing alive.

Larry Ayuso hit half of Puerto Rico's 12 3-pointers and scored 25 points to lead the Caribbean island to victory.
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