U.S. overcomes sluggish first half; Carmelo Anthoney’s 35 points keeps Americans perfect in Group D.

It took a little extra from the Americans Wednesday night. Apparently unaware that the first 20 minutes counted, the U.S. relied on a second half surge to beat Italy 94-85 to improve to 4-0 at the FIBA World Championship.

After a second quarter that produced only two U.S. baskets the Americans trailed Italy 45-36 going into halftime. While the U.S. offense did struggle it was the Italians sharp shooting that helped build that lead. Their 58 percent shooting in the first half was a mixture of outside shooting and dribble penetration that left the U.S. unsure of how to defend the Italians.

The start of the third was looking ominous for the U.S. when Italy opened their lead by 12 with a three point play but a 17-4 surge led by Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade brought the Americans back.

Anthony scored 19 points in the third quarter and worked seamlessly with Wade and LeBron James to outscore Italy 35-19 during the period and build a 71-64 lead.

Italy could never get back in the game and the U.S. moved to 4-0 in Group D play while Italy dropped to 3-1.

Dwyane Wade finished with 26, Elton Brand dropped 16 and Carmelo Anthony set a new U.S. single game record with 35, surpassing Kenny Anderson’s 34 in a 1990 world championship game

Both the U.S. and Italy have qualified for the round of 16.