GOODWILL GAMES : Anderson Finally Warms to Task for U.S. : Basketball: Americans beat Brazil, 112-95, and advance to Sunday’s gold medal game against Yugoslavia.

There will be no rematch. Mike Krzyzewski can stash his Valeri Tikhonenko file away for another day.

The basketball final of the Goodwill Games will go on without the Soviets, who apparently had one gold medal performance in them and spent it early. In one respect, Krzyzewski was dead-on accurate: In this tournament, it is better to lose before the semifinals than during them.

Jarred back into reality--or at least a minor preoccupation with defense--by Tuesday’s round-robin loss to the Soviet Union, Team USA weathered the most dangerous one-man tempest in international basketball, Brazil’s Oscar Schmidt, in a 112-95 victory Friday night and advanced to Sunday’s gold medal game.

There, Yugoslavia awaits, after its 84-78 triumph in Friday’s other semifinal. As gifts to America go, this ranks as Yugoslavia’s finest since the Lakers’ Vlade Divac was allowed to wriggle out of military duty.

The United States, which had made only 11 of 44 three-point attempts entering the game against Brazil, made six of nine in the first half and 10 of 16 for the game. Kenny Anderson, who was one for six on three-pointers entering the game, made two in scoring 17 points in the first half. He finished with 25 and Billy Owens added 22.

Krzyzewski had to be ecstatic. No more three-pointers by Tikhonenko. No more bristling at questions that associated the words national and embarrassment .

But, for the record, when someone asked if he was disappointed about missing a second chance at the Soviets, Krzyzewski played it low-key.

“No,” he said, “because then we’d be playing for the bronze.”

Krzyzewski had been handed the last laugh. He was in no mood for a turnover.

“And,” he continued, “I’m not embarrassed that we’re not playing the Soviets. I’m sorry. We were going to throw the game but, I’m sorry, we decided to go to the gold medal game.”

Krzyzewski said he didn’t want to have “a Soviet fetish.” “I don’t know if losses can help a team,” he said, “but I believe in losses not destroying a team, especially our team. . . . We learned from the Soviet game. We learned we had to play fewer people, eight or nine players, and we had to define roles better.

“That and the fact Tikhonenko can shoot.”

With Tikhonenko’s rapid-fire jump shot a thing of the past, Krzyzewski’s team had to focus on the present--Oscar Schmidt, the Big O of Brazilian basketball, the Larry Bird of the southern hemisphere. The Americans knew the face. In the 1987 Pan-American Games, Schmidt scored 46 points against Denny Crum’s U.S. squad and brought Brazil back from a 20-point deficit to win the gold medal.

The stage for a repeat was set again Friday, with Brazil trailing, 58-45, at halftime. Two minutes into the second half, Schmidt had made two quick three-pointers and the U.S. lead was down to eight.

By then, Schmidt had 25 points. But his legs are 32 years old now and they were running in their fourth game in five days. Schmidt faded from view momentarily, going nine minutes between baskets, after which time those legs did a lot of catching up.

One good thing about inexperience: Youth doesn’t tire so fast. The United States’ full-court attack--pressing defense, relay-sprint offense--overwhelmed the Brazilians, with the U.S. breaking the 100-point mark with more than seven minutes to play.

Point guard Anderson also had seven assists. Todd Day had 16 points.

Day was also the Americans’ main Oscar-minder, although a whole starting lineup took cracks at him. Along with Day, Owens, Mark Randall, Christian Laettner and Doug Smith went after Schmidt in shifts.

Schmidt wound up with 38 points, but had to take 29 shots to get them. He made 13.

And, as they say, they were a deceptive 38.

“He doesn’t look like that good a player when you first see him,” Day observed. “Then you get back to the locker room and he’s got 38 points.

“Everybody was telling me, ‘Good defense.’ Then I look at the stat sheet and see 38 points. I don’t call that good defense.”

Krzyzewski, though, called it good enough.

“I imagine teams have tried every kind of defense in the world against him,” Krzyzewski said. “Tonight, we had Todd and some of our bigger players on him. With a small guy on him, he likes to go inside and if it’s close, he’s going to get fouled. (Michael) Jordan gets the calls in the NBA. All the great ones know how to get fouled.

“We thought Oscar was more dangerous going inside and getting free throws than by shooting three-pointers. All you can do is try to make him shoot less than 50%, which is what we did.”

Now, on to Yugoslavia. The gold medal, left for dead Tuesday night, can fall into American hands with one more victory.

Krzyzewski didn’t want to say he told us so, but . . .

“We’re very, very pleased to be playing for the gold medal,” Krzyzewski said, eating up the moment. “I hope we’re not the only ones hungry for it. As much as everybody wants, and expects, us to win it, I hope the fans Sunday night really get behind the U.S. Team.”