THIN LINE

Kevin Durant of Team USA being
harassed by a Brazilian defender.

Team USA veteran point guard Chauncey Billups is looking forward of playing Brazil once again in the medal round of the FIBA World Championships in Turkey, according to NBA.Fanhouse.com. The Brazilians, playing without the injured Anderson Varejao, nearly handed the Americans their first loss after absorbing a 70-68 defeat. Billups said it is a wakeup call for the team especially for the young guys. Team USA cruised to easy wins in their first two games against Croatia and Slovenia, winning by big margins, respectively.

“It is particularly good, a game like this, to know that you're not invincible, that you could be beat at any time. This team was good enough to beat you and they had their chances to do that, but we came out victorious. (It's good for) the young guys just to know how thin of a line it is.”