U.S. Has Plenty of Everything : Basketball: Even with abundant overconfidence, the Americans end up beating Canada, 105-61, after a lethargic first half.

PORTLAND, Ore. â€”  The TV lights went out and overconfidence, the silent killer, hit the Dream Team.

So the U.S. Olympic team settled for a 44-point victory.

The Americans, wallowing in lethargy and half-court basketball, turned the second half into a track meet and walloped Canada, 105-61, Monday night to go 2-0 in the Tournament of the Americas.

Afterward, Coach Chuck Daly, asked by a Latin journalist to explain U.S. supremacy, gave a long, involved answer about sociological factors, intense competition, etc.

“What he’s trying to say diplomatically is he’s got some brothers from the ‘hood who can flat out hoop all day long,� interjected Charles Barkley. “They’re gonna be tough to keep up with.�

However, the U.S. team lost John Stockton at least for the rest of the tournament. He suffered a broken right leg in a collision with Michael Jordan a minute into the game.

X-rays after the game showed he had a fractured right fibula. The leg will not be put in a cast, said David Fischer, U.S. team physician.

“We’re hopeful that he will be able to participate in Barcelona,� Fischer said.

For most of Monday’s first half, the Canadians stayed with the U.S. team.

Late in the half, they trailed only 37-28, which was a far cry from the 40-point pounding the Americans had laid on Cuba in Sunday’s first half.

From then on, the United States outscored them, 68-33.

“I played this year in Italy,� said Canadian center Bill Wennington, the ex-Dallas Maverick. “They’ve got some talented players, but they don’t compare to NBA players.

“You’ve got, shoot, 12 all-stars. Anything can happen but within the realm of possibility, I think the world would end before they lose.�

He laughed.

“And it would end in the United States if they lose.�

The wily Canadians came in with a proud history as a rough opponent for U.S. teams. In the ’84 games at Los Angeles, Bob Knight’s team, rated alongside the ’60 West-Robertson squad as the best in amateur history, steamrollered its other opponents by an average of 36 points but beat the Canadians twice by only 19 and 21.

The Canadians also boasted NBA size, with the 6-10 Wennington, 7-0 ex-Laker Mike Smrek and 7-0 Greg Wiltjer.

Of course, they were up against it at other spots, such as point guard where 5-9 Ronnie McMahon, from Upland High School and Eastern Washington University, lined up against 6-9 Magic Johnson.

McMahon came up to Johnson’s collarbone. When they stood next to each other, the crowd laughed.

The Canadians ran deliberate offensive patterns and slowed the game down to their heart’s desire.

Meanwhile, the Americans were, shall we say, uninspired.

Patrick Ewing had a shot blocked by 6-5 J.D. Jackson.

Barkley missed a dunk.

The team that shot 72% Sunday went into the final minutes of the half at 41%.

“I don’t think we were as emotional as Sunday,� Daly said. “And we weren’t as sharp. And Canada had some big people.

“We let them hang around a little bit. But once we get to stopping people and get out on the break, we’re pretty hard to stop.�

Sure enough, the United States tightened its defense late in the half and the lead started increasing in a hurry. David Robinson’s layup made it 41-30. Karl Malone’s layup made it 43-30. Chris Mullin’s three-pointer on a fast break made it 46-30. Malone’s fast-break layup made it 48-30. Scottie Pippen’s layup made it 50-31.

Once rolling, the Americans were not to be stopped.

“We’re not happy with our performance,� Johnson said. “We were lackadaisical with our passes and we didn’t play defense like we did in Game 1. But we said after halftime, OK, let’s go, and before you knew it, we were up by 30.�

Barkley had labeled this a grudge match to avenge the ’83 loss to Canada in the World University Games. No one else took that loss as seriously, but motivation is where one finds it.

What did he have against tonight’s opponent, Panama?

“We’re going to get the canal back,� Barkley said.

Basketball Notes

Larry Bird sat out with a sore back. He’s still deciding whether to return next season and friends had already been predicting he’ll retire. . . . Patrick Ewing, who was supposed to be out until mid-week with a dislocated right thumb, returned. . . . Michael Jordan on the Canadians’ demeanor: “I didn’t hear much trash talking. But if there was, I think Charles (Barkley) initiated it.� . . . And Jordan on the psychological edge: “Our supreme weapon is that they worry about us. We don’t worry about them.�

In other games, Puerto Rico beat Uruguay, 104-88; Panama defeated Cuba, 86-67, and Brazil beat Mexico, 90-87.

Puerto Rico (2-1) outrebounded Uruguay, 54-31, in the easy victory. Uruguay is 0-2. A 15-3 run gave Puerto Rico a 90-75 lead with 4:37 to play as Mario Morales, who finished with 21 points, scored seven in the spurt, including one of his five three-point shots. Jose Ortiz, who played for the Utah Jazz, had 18 points for Puerto Rico, and Ramon Rivas, who played for the Boston Celtics, had 13 points and 12 rebounds. Horacio Lopez, who had 32 points in Uruguay’s opening loss to Venezuela, finished with 30.

The victory almost guarantees Puerto Rico, which was beaten by Brazil in the opening game, second place in the five-team pool and a berth in the quarterfinal round.

Panama (1-1), the U.S. team’s opponent tonight, trounced the team that had lost to the United States on Sunday by 79 points. Stuart Gray, who played for the Charlotte Hornets, had 13 points and 13 rebounds for Panama, which outrebounded Cuba, 52-25, including 18-10 on the offensive end. Panama extended a 42-32 halftime lead to as much as 22 points. Leonardo Perez led Cuba (1-2) with 19 points.

Panama plays Canada on Wednesday and Cuba plays Argentina today, games that are critical for Panama and Cuba. The second- and third-place teams from the five-team pools advance to the quarterfinals. The four semifinalists advance to the Olympics.