Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro ? Perhaps the worst already is in the past for the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team.

Following coach Larry Brown’s mantra of “playing the right way,” the Americans dominated the defending world champions with defense in an impressive 78-60 exhibition win over Serbia-Montenegro on Friday night.

The Americans took a partisan crowd out of the game by holding Serbia-Montenegro to just nine points in the second quarter, showing none of the faults that hampered them in earlier games against Italy and Germany while shutting down an opponent that appeared both overconfident and incompetent.

“We played hard, and we tried to do what was right, and I think that was a significant step,” Brown said.

Tim Duncan led the United States team with 16 points, and LeBron James added 11.

“We are the team that everyone wants to play their best basketball against,” Lamar Odom said. “We’re playing for a lot, and it means a lot to us.”

The U.S. team went 14-for-14 from the free-throw line and 30-of-60 from the field while holding the Serbian team to 35 percent shooting overall and 1-for-14 accuracy from three-point range.

U.S. coach Larry Brown exhorts his team during a 78-60 victory over Serbia-Montenegro. Team USA picked up the win over the defending world champions Friday in Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro.