Pierce, Finley Ignite Rout by the U.S.

Only one more game at the men’s basketball World Championships will match two unbeaten teams. The United States warmed up for it by getting its act together in the second half Tuesday night.

With Paul Pierce and Michael Finley leading the way, a dominant third quarter made up for an uninspired first half in a 110-62 victory over New Zealand at Indianapolis.

Pierce and Finley scored 20 points apiece and Shawn Marion had 16 for the Americans (5-0), who conclude the second round against Argentina (5-0) tonight. The quarterfinals are Thursday.

“In a lot of ways, the games begin now. Every team has a chance to beat us if we don’t play the right way,” U.S. Coach George Karl said.

Karl watched parts of the Argentina-Germany game from the tunnel near the Indiana Pacers’ locker room, and the U.S. came out playing as though it were looking past New Zealand.

Despite being without its only NBA player, Sean Marks, who sat out because of a scratched eye, New Zealand kept it close for 24 minutes. The U.S. team outscored New Zealand, 35-10, in the fourth to make it a rout.

The Americans, playing lethargically for long stretches, didn’t open their first double-digit lead until midway through the third quarter. They held New Zealand scoreless for a stretch of six minutes and used a 15-0 run that included an eight-point possession to break things open.

“We tried every trick in the book,” New Zealand Coach Tab Baldwin said. “For a while, there were some things that worked, but the water on the other side of that dam is pretty deep and pretty cold, and we didn’t have enough fingers to keep that thing from busting.”

The U.S. improved to 58-0 when using NBA players in international competitions, but that record could be at risk against the South American champions.

Argentina has been one of the most impressive teams in the tournament, scoring 100 points per game and winning by an average of 20.8 points.

“They’re probably more NBA-like than any team that we play,” Karl said.

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The Portland Fire of the WNBA said it won’t renew the contract of Coach and General Manager Linda Hargrove for next season.

The Fire had a 37-59 record the last three seasons under Hargrove. The contracts of assistants Jessie Kenlaw and Tom Newell won’t be renewed either.

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Lin Dunn resigned as coach and general manager of the Seattle Storm. She had a 33-63 record in the three years with the WNBA team.

Miscellany

Former IRL champion Greg Ray was hired to drive in the last two races of the season for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.

Ray will replace injured Richie Hearn in the race Sunday at Chicago Speedway and in the season finale Sept. 15 at Texas Motor Speedway. Hearn is recovering from ankle surgery.

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A television cameraman died in a forklift accident while taping the Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf exhibition between Fred Couples and Mark Calcavecchia.

Brian Blodgett, 37, a cameraman on all 42 of the Shell’s matches since they were revived in 1994, died while being taken to Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula. The cause of death was pending an autopsy.

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Bob Knight will pay $25,000 to a former basketball assistant at Indiana after signing an agreement in which he admitted to shoving Ron Felling in anger in 1999, Felling’s attorney, William Potter, said.

Potter said Knight, the men’s coach at Texas Tech, agreed to the conditions Friday after coming to Indianapolis for a mediation hearing.

Passings

Leon “Muscles” Campbell, a former NFL running back who earned his nickname after bending a railroad spike shortly after enrolling at Arkansas, died Monday in a hospital at Little Rock, Ark. He was 75.

Campbell played for Baltimore, Chicago and Pittsburgh in a six-year NFL career and scored his only touchdown as a professional on a kickoff return in 1952. Knee injuries forced him to retire after the 1955 season.

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The father of former NFL quarterback Art Schlichter was found dead after apparently drowning in a pool at his home in Columbus, Ohio.

Officers found the body of John “Max” Schlichter, 65, when they responded to a report of a drowning around 8 a.m., the police report said.

Franklin County Coroner Brad Lewis said an autopsy is scheduled for today.

Art Schlichter, a former Ohio State quarterback, is in prison in Indiana for violating his probation from a 1997 conviction for forgery and theft.