Team USA drubs China in scrimmage at Garden

In its first taste of international competition, Team USA had little trouble outhustling and outshooting China, 98-51, in yesterday's scrimmage at the Garden.

Danny Granger led all scorers with 22 points. Eric Gordon had 15 points, Kevin Durant 14 and Derrick Rose 12.

The Wizards' Yi Jianlian scored 13 points for China. Neither Jeff Green nor JaVale McGee played in any of the four 10-minute quarters, leading many to assume that coach Mike Krzyzewski was giving a clue as to which players he will cut.

The United States takes on France in an exhibition and China takes on Puerto Rico Sunday at the Garden.

The Americans head to Europe Monday for three exhibition games. Team USA must submit a final 12-man roster by Aug. 26 - two days before the world championships begin in Turkey. But Coach K said that he isn't rushing to make any decisions.

"It's not about evaluating one guy and another guy. It's trying to figure out how they all fit together," he said. "And these guys have put us in a position where they're all playing hard, they're all unselfish and hopefully, we can come up with the right group to give us the best chance to win.

"We're not going to get a good chance to know exactly what we need until we play Lithuania, Spain, Madrid and Greece. Those games are going to more simulate what we're going to have in Turkey than either a scrimmage here or a game tomorrow against France. These two days give us some familiarity with playing internationally - which these guys need."

One player who did impress Krzyzewski was Granger, who showed no ill effects from a dislocated finger on his shooting hand suffered during a team scrimmage Tuesday.

"Granger's a pro," Krzyzewski said. "In Vegas [minicamp], he hurt his knee and he's out one day. Here, he hurts his finger and he's out a day. No excuses. Danny's a key guy for us because when he shoots the ball, you feel like it's going in."

Said Granger: "I never really was concerned about whether I would make it or not make it. We're all playing for Team USA, so if I didn't make it, I would still root for my team . . . I just played my game. And today I did what I do, which is score."

Curry likes new Knicks

Guard Stephen Curry gave former teammates Anthony Randolph and Ronny Turiaf - two players recently acquired by the Knicks in a trade with Golden State - his stamp of approval.

"There's a lot of potential there," Curry said of Randolph. "He can do a lot of things. He can shoot, he can put the ball on the floor. He's a freak athlete. He's very long and athletic . . . He'll be good for coach [Mike] D'Antoni."

He also believes Turiaf will become a fan favorite at the Garden.

"He's very energetic, very animated on the floor and you can tell he's working hard," Curry said. "And he's going to give it all when he's out there."

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