BEIJING — The U.S. Olympic men's basketball team put away Dirk Nowitzki and Germany in a hurry.

Next up: the only team so far these Americans couldn't blow out.

After destroying Germany 106-57 yesterday, the Americans (5-0) move on to a quarterfinal matchup tomorrow against Australia, the team that has provided them with their toughest test in China.

The Redeem Team led by only seven points midway through the fourth quarter of an 87-76 exhibition victory in Shanghai two weeks ago over an Australian team that didn't have starting center Andrew Bogut of the Milwaukee Bucks. He was resting a sore right ankle.

It's hard to imagine a repeat of that semi-Shanghai surprise with the way the U.S. has played in Beijing.

"Nobody is going to beat them. No way, it's just not going to happen," Germany's Chris Kaman said.

Dwight Howard scored 22 points and LeBron James had 18, 16 in the first half, yesterday as the United States completed an undefeated march through pool play.

Not since the Dream Team rumbled through Las Ramblas 16 years ago in Barcelona has a team been this dominant. The Americans won their pool games by 32.2 points and averaged 103 points.

"We feel like we're playing very well right now, but you have to keep in mind it's single elimination," Kobe Bryant said. "You can't afford any slip-ups."

Swim star Michael Phelps was in the stands and he met the U.S. players in the locker room afterward. It was the highlight of the night for the Redeem Team.

And the NBA players sounded almost giddy about meeting him.

"He's definitely one of the greatest athletes I've ever seen in my life," James said. "It's humbling for me and humbling for Kobe. It was unbelievable."

Howard added: "I told him I was going to swim the 100-meter medley next year."

The Redeem Team is doing everything the right way at the Beijing Olympics. The Americans are playing hard, clean and together — to a man, their mantra is play the right way — and they're bending over backward away from the court to show the world they're accessible, decent guys.

There was much to fix going into these Games. Not only had the U.S. stumbled in international play in recent years, but the chemistry was so poor on those teams it was palpable.

"We're trying to change the culture," forward Carlos Boozer said. "Our culture in Athens (in 2004) was terrible. It really was. And this time around we made an effort to show people that we're good guys."

The 2004 team and the '06 team that stumbled to the bronze medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship were poorly disguised collections of mercenaries with seven-figure shoe contracts. They didn't exactly create a favorable impression on the world stage.

TRACK AND FIELD

U.S. TEAM FINALLY PICKS UP GOLD AT BIRD'S NEST

BEIJING — The U.S. flag finally rose at the Bird's Nest yesterday, and it came from an unexpected source when Stephanie Brown Trafton won the women's discus. It went up again later when Angelo Taylor won the 400-meter hurdles, with Americans Kerron Clement and Bershawn Jackson taking silver and bronze.

"We wanted to uplift the track team," Taylor said, "and bring home the sweep."

After capturing only one of six possible medals in the men's and women's 100, watching the 1,500-meter team of Bernard Lagat, Lopez Lomong and Leo Manzano all fail to advance past the semifinals, and seeing Terrence Trammell get hurt in the opening heat of the 110 hurdles, Brown Trafton's victory was a much-needed lift.

"I came to the Bird's Nest to lay a golden egg, and that's what I did," Brown Trafton said. "I am surprised we haven't won more gold. But you know what? I hope this sets a trend."

The 400 sweep was awfully nice, too, something no country had done since the U.S. in 1960.

Also, Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva won her second consecutive gold in women's pole vault, topping American rival Jenn Stuczynski and then upping her own world record to 16 feet, 6 3/4 inches; Brimin Kipruto made it seven straight Olympics that Kenyans have won the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase; and 18-year-old Pamela Jelimo led a 1-2 Kenya finish in the women's 800.

TRIATHLON

BEIJING — Jan Frodeno of Germany won the men's triathlon today, edging Simon Whitfield of Canada in an exciting four-man sprint finish. Whitfield led just a few yards from the finish line, but Frodeno raced past him to win by about 5 seconds. Bevan Docherty of New Zealand took the bronze. Whitfield won the gold medal in 2000 in Sydney, the first year triathlon medals were awarded at the Olympics. Docherty was the silver medalist four years ago in Athens.

GYMNASTICS

BEIJING — American Nastia Liukin and China's He Kexin got the same score on the uneven bars, requiring a tiebreaker because dual medals are no longer awarded in gymnastics, and He took the gold, while Liukin took silver. This was Liukin's fourth medal of the Games, matching her dad's haul when he competed for the Soviet Union. Coincidentally, one of Valeri Liukin's golds, on high bar in 1988, came in a tie. There also was a deadlock for the men's vault gold, which went to Poland's Leszek Blanik. Chen Yibing extended China's perfect run of gold by winning the still rings competition. That string ended only because no Chinese men qualified for vault. Liukin's silver gave the United States six overall medals. China has five, including team gold.

BASEBALL

BEIJING — The U.S. team beat China, 9-1, yesterday in a game that featured rough play such as a home-plate collision, a retaliatory hit batsman and three ejections. Matt LaPorta, arguably Cleveland's top prospect, was plunked in the head by a pitch and was taken to a hospital for precautionary tests, all of which came back negative.

SOFTBALL

BEIJING — The U.S. used a nine-run first inning on the way to a 9-0 win over China yesterday, leaving the Americans two wins from another gold medal. Their win streak is up to 23; two more and they get another gold before their sport goes off the docket until at least 2016.

SAILING

QINGDAO, China — Anna Tunnicliffe of the United States won the gold medal in Laser Radial sailing today. Gintare Volungeviciute took the silver for Lithuania's first sailing medal in an Olympics, while China's Xu Lijia took bronze. Earlier today, Paul Goodison won Britain's third sailing gold medal of the Games, taking the men's Laser class dinghy. Vasilij Zbogar of Slovenia won the silver and Italy's Diego Romero took the bronze.

WEIGHTLIFTING

BEIJING — Heavyweight Andrei Aramnau of Belarus broke three world records to win his country's first Olympic gold in weightlifting yesterday. He set world records in the snatch, becoming the first man in the weight class to lift 200 kilograms (440.9 pounds); the clean and jerk (236 kg, or 520.3 pounds) and with his total (436 kg, or 961.2 pounds).

CYCLING

BEIJING — The U.S. appears headed toward a second straight Olympics without any medals from the velodrome. American Sarah Hammer appears headed toward a layoff after breaking her left collarbone in a fall during the women's points race yesterday. Jennie Reed also lost in the sprint quarterfinals. Britain continued to dominate, knocking nearly 2 seconds off the world record it set a day earlier to win the men's team pursuit. The medal gave Britain 12 golds for the Olympics so far, already its best showing since 1920.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL

BEIJING — Defending Olympic champions Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor of the United States will play for another gold medal after advancing to the beach volleyball championship match with a straight-sets victory over Brazil today. The Americans beat Renata and Talita, 21-12, 21-14, clinching at least a silver medal.

FIELD HOCKEY

BEIJING — No goals. No more Olympics for the U.S. women, who were eliminated after a scoreless draw with Britain yesterday. The Americans went 1-1-3, remaining without a medal since 1984. This was their first Olympics since 1996, when they got in automatically as the host nation.

EQUESTRIAN

HONG KONG — The U.S. won the gold medal yesterday in Olympic equestrian team jumping, knocking out Canada, which took silver. Norway won the bronze. The U.S. also won team jumping in 2004 in Athens.