SAN JUAN, 22 August 2003 — The United States used defense, depth and Tim Duncan to defeat a game Brazil 110-76 here Wednesday on the opening day of the FIBA Olympic basketball qualifying tournament of the Americas.

For one half, the Brazilians gave the Americans all they could handle — and some they couldn’t, in the person of future National Basketball Association first-round pick Anderson Varejao, who scored 16 points.

But foul trouble and an inability to solve a swarming defense spelled their doom. When Team USA sputtered, coach Larry Brown simply went deeper into his bench stocked with NBA talent, finding Elton Brand, Mike Bibby and recent addition Kenyon Martin to complement Duncan, who again was by far the best player on the floor.

Duncan scored eight of his 17 points in the third quarter, when the US turned a two-point game into a blowout. He also was in the middle of the defensive stand that limited Brazil to 10 points in the period, including none in the last three minutes.

A 13-0 run closed the third quarter, gave Team USA a 78-55 lead and turned the final period into a dunking contest, with Martin and Vince Carter happily obliging.

That was a complete reversal from the first half, when Varejao and Nene contributed embarrassing dunks as the US fell behind 10 points early in the second quarter.

But with Nene picking up his fourth foul late in the second quarter, the Brazilians were limited and couldn’t match the endless supply of All-Stars coming off Brown’s bench.

The United States and Brazil are in Group B with Venezuela, the Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic. Group A is much deeper with Argentina, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico and Uruguay.

The Argentines looked sloppy in a 91-89 loss to Mexico. “I am always 100 percent ready and I expect my players to be 100 percent ready because that’s how they are trained and how I prepare them,” Argentina coach Ruben Magnano said through an interpreter. “But it’s up to the individual that they give 100 percent.”

With an early start in front of a sparse crowd, Argentina trailed for virtually the entire first three quarters. They were down 73-60, entering the final period before rallying and cutting the deficit to 90-89 on a 3-pointer by San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili with 23 seconds left.

Argentina forced a turnover, but Spurs draftee Luis Scola missed an open foul-line jumper with three seconds to go. Oscar Castellanos made 1-of-2 free throws with 2.3 seconds to go, and Ginobili’s desperation 3-pointer missed at the horn.

Dallas Mavericks forward Eduardo Najera made four 3-pointers and scored 20 points and former NBA center Horacio Llamas added 13 and 10 rebounds for Mexico.

Puerto Rico defeated Uruguay 91-78 in the day’s other Group A match, Puerto Rico guard Carlos Arroyo of the NBA’s Utah Jazz scoring 20 points. Jose Ortiz also scored 20 for the host nation.

In the day’s other Group B match, the Dominican Republic edged Venezuela 78-76. The top four teams in each group advance to the second round, where they face the four teams they have not played from the other group.

Miller Extends Stay at Pacers After Signing New Deal

In Indianapolis, Reggie Miller re-signed with the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, the only NBA team he has played for in his 16-year career. Miller, who turns 38 on Sunday, signed a multiyear deal, although terms and exact length were not released by the club. The veteran is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer.

There was plenty of interest in Miller from other teams, but the unrestricted free agent resisted the temptation of signing with another team just to try and win his first NBA title.