Plus, there was "Cotton-eye Joe" during a time-out and a half-time performance from a group of young men who mixed Chinese acrobatics, martial arts and some hip-hop dance moves.

Think about it: when was the last time you went to an NBA game and watched someone break a thick wooden rod over the head of an accomplice?

The most feverish cheers were saved for Bryant and James, the uberstars of Team USA and the NBA. But the Chinese cheered both teams equally — including Williams draining a 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter and Kirilenko's rubber-man moves around the rim.

The final score was secondary. Officially, the United States won 89-68, never trailing.

No, Shanghai got a pre-Olympic taste of what's around the corner at the Summer Games. Sunday's fans didn't have to travel to Beijing, and they didn't have to pay ticket prices of Olympic proportions.

And the Chinese fans loved every minute of it. They cheered the highlights. They good-naturedly razzed the mistakes, including a Kobe misfire on a breakaway

They weren't necessarily pro-American fans, nor were they pro-Russian fans.

Instead, Shanghai's Qizhong Arena was full of pro-basketball fans.

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E-mail: taylor@desnews.com