Olympic Team Bounces Back With 91-79 Win

Charles Smith of Georgetown scored 17 points Monday night as the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team beat a team of National Basketball Assn. players, 91-79.

Smith scored 15 of his points in the first half when the Olympians opened a 22-point lead. Several of his points came on breakaway baskets.

Olympic Coach John Thompson spent the second half in the locker room suffering from food poisoning. His place was taken by assistant coach George Raveling.

The Olympians, coming off their first loss on this tour, started the game with a physical, pressing style that seemed to bother their opponents. Dennis Rodman of the Detroit Pistons was assessed a technical foul in the first half for throwing a punch at Olympian Danny Manning.

Team USA, 5-1 against NBA players, rebounded from a 90-83 defeat Sunday.

Smith scored five points and Manning four as the Olympians took an 11-3 lead. They stretched it to 15-4 five minutes into the game, and the closest the pros came after that was six points, 19-13, with 11:45 remaining in the half.

Rolando Blackman of the Dallas Mavericks, who led his team with 11 points, hit consecutive jumpers to make the score 39-27 with 6:22 left before halftime.

But Smith scored eight points in a 10-2 run that put the Olympians ahead, 49-30.

The NBA team cut a 57-38 halftime lead to 77-66 with seven minutes left, but got no closer.

Manning scored 14 points.