NBA | Dwyane Wade leads U.S. in 120-65 rout of Canada

LAS VEGAS — Coach Mike Krzyzewski wanted guard Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat on the U.S. Olympic team, just in case something ever happened to Kobe Bryant or LeBron James.

With James out Friday night, Wade indicated he is back from injuries of his own.

Wade stepped into the starting lineup and scored 20 points in his first action in more than four months, not counting charity games, and the United States beat Canada 120-65 in the opener of its exhibition schedule before next month's Beijing Games.

"D-Wade is a warrior to anybody who knows him. He's been rehabbing and he's been working out probably more than anybody, just trying to get back in shape," said U.S. point guard Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets. "That's D-Wade. We see it every day in practice and you saw it tonight, that he's back. When he's aggressive like that, we're a dangerous team."

Cleveland Cavaliers superstar James, the NBA's leading scorer last season, missed the game because of a sprained right ankle, but the U.S. team has plenty of offense without him. Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets and Michael Redd of the Milwaukee Bucks each finished with 20 points, and Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers added 15.

The U.S. team made 16 of its first 20 shots and ended the game at 65.7 percent (44 of 67), getting plenty of layups and dunks at a packed Thomas & Mack Center in its lone game on home soil before completing Olympic preparations in China.

Canada coach Leo Rautins called the United States "obviously the most talented team, without a question, in the world."

Wade was the sixth man on the U.S. bronze-medal team in the 2006 world championships, but sat out last summer after surgery on his knee and shoulder. His left knee continued to bother him, so the Heat shut down its best player for the NBA season in March.

He resumed working out in Chicago in time to prove to Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball managing director, that he was healthy enough to be picked for the team.

Krzyzewski, who is Duke's coach, said Wade's strong play has been the most pleasant surprise of practice this week, and Wade said he feels healthier than he did two years ago, when he was bothered by wrist and knee pain after leading Miami to the NBA championship.

Wade had no doubt he would play well in his first appearance since March 8.

"I put in the work," he said. "I've been in the gym since May."

Wade made a three-pointer in the opening minutes and had no trouble driving to the basket, making his first five shots. He threw down a dunk to put the Americans into triple figures in points with 7:25 remaining in the game, and shot 7 of 10.

"He's healthy," said Bryant, adding he sometimes shows up in the gym for a morning workout to find Wade already there. "That's the most important thing for Dwyane, is that he's healthy."

Canada trailed 30-24 after the first quarter. The U.S. team tightened its defense in the second, forcing 10 turnovers and limiting the Canadians to 3-for-11 shooting and pulling away for a 61-38 lead by halftime.

"You could see it unravel very quickly," Rautins said. "One or two plays here or there, a couple of threes, a dunk and all of a sudden the game has changed dramatically. Just tells how quick and how talented they are. You can't make any mistakes at all."

Redd was 6 of 8, all on three-pointers.

"After the first 10 minutes, we just seemed — that's the first game we've played — we just seemed like we were in sync," Krzyzewski said.

Note

• Guard Sasha Vujacic, 24, has agreed to a three-year, $15 million contract to return to the Los Angeles Lakers. He averaged a career-high 8.8 points last season.

The Lakers had made Vujacic, who is from Slovenia, a $2.6 million qualifying offer and he reportedly was considering playing in Europe.