Sluggish United States beat Brazil

The US men's basketball team eased past Brazil 80-69 in an exhibition game, but their sluggish play and spotty shooting should banish any thoughts they will waltz to another Olympic gold medal in London.

LeBron James scored 30 to lead the Americans, who trailed by 10 after the first period and were out-rebounded (38-30) and out-hustled by their less-heralded counterparts.

"Our defense won the game," said US coach Mike Krzyzewski. "It was outstanding for three quarters, especially because we didn't hit shots. And we missed dunks.

"I liked the mental toughness of our team. We kept reminding them: ‘We're not doing it on offense. Don't let it affect defense.' And I thought it didn't."

US President Barack Obama was in attendance but he would not have been impressed with the US shooting as they hit only 29 of 71 from the floor, including six of 24 from three-point range.

While James hit 11 of 20 shots, his team mates were much less effective, Kobe Bryant managing only eight points and Carmelo Anthony just three for the Americans, who won Olympic gold four years ago in Beijing.

"We had open shots off the pick and roll, we just weren't making them," said US forward Kevin Durant, who came off the bench to score 11 points. "We've just got to keep working.

"Their defense didn't do anything different. We just missed shots, layups, dunks. We've just got to fight through it. We've got to stick with it and we'll be fine."