Brazilians hold off stubborn Britain in basketball

Tiago Splitter scored 21 points and Brazil held off upset-minded Britain down the stretch for a 67-62 victory on Tuesday in a round-robin game of the Olympic men's basketball tournament. Marcelinho Huertas added 13 points for the Brazilians, who joined Spain and Russia atop preliminary Group B at 2-0 with the closer-than-expected triumph. Two free throws by Splitter gave Brazil a 56-51 lead, but Luol Deng fired back-to-back 3-pointers to give Britain a 57-56 edge with 3:56 remaining and put the Olympic hosts within reach of a stunning upset. Splitter, of the NBA San Antonio Spurs, sank a layup and Marquinhos Veira Sousa followed with a 3-pointer to put Brazil ahead 61-57. Britain followed with its 18th and 19th turnovers and Nene Hilario of the NBA Washington Wizards slammed in a dunk over Britain's Joel Freeland to give the South Americans a six-point cushion. Freeland got a basket on a goaltending call against Hilario but Splitter answered with a layup, then Deng was fouled by Alex Garcia attempting a 3-point shot, sending the NBA Chicago Bulls standout to the free throw line for three crucial attempts. Deng made only 1-of-3, trimming Brazil's lead to 65-60, but Huertas followed with two free throws to seal Britain's fate, a last basket by Pops Mensah-Bonsu only trimming the final margin. Mensah-Bonsu and Nate Reinking had 13 points each while Deng added 12. Britain seized a surprise 11-4 lead after a first quarter in which neither side found a shooting touch, the Brazilians hitting a miserable 2-of-20 shots from the field in the period while the Olympic hosts were a woeful 4-of-15. The game was deadlocked 27-27 at half-time and stayed tight in the third quarter, Britain making 5-of-6 from the field to open the second half while Brazil missed 5-of-7 free throws to open the third quarter. Britain's Reinking sank back-to-back 3-pointers and Deng denied a fast break layup with a spectacular block but Anderson Varejao's layup with 28 seconds to go in the third quarter put Brazil ahead 48-43 entering the fourth. Dan Clark hit a 3-pointer and Reinking followed with an inside jumper and a 3-pointer to put Britain ahead 51-50 with 7:18 remaining, a wild cheer erupting as a sellout crowd sensed a potential stunner, setting up the closing drama.