SAITAMA -- The start was sluggish, the finish was impressive.

News photoCarmelo Anthony scored 19 points as the United States beat Germany in the semifinals of the FIBA World Championship. KYODO PHOTO

Now the United States is two wins away from reaching its goal.

Team USA overwhelmed Germany in the second half of their quarterfinal clash on Thursday night at Saitama Super Arena, coasting to an 85-65 victory in the FIBA World Championship quarterfinals.

Greece, which defeated France in the earlier quarterfinal, meets the U.S. in Friday's 4:30 p.m. semifinal.

The 7:30 p.m. semifinal features Argentina and Spain. Germany, meanwhile, plays in the fifth-through-eighth-place bracket against France on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

"I thought our guys played the best defensively in a pressure situation that you could," Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We didn't shoot the ball well but we also missed a lot of shots right by the basket."

The final numbers support that notion. Team USA shot 32-for-85 from the field, taking a whopping 31 more shots than Germany. The U.S. held a 22-6 edge on the offensive boards to create this sizable mismatch.

Superstar Dirk Nowitzki, who entered the game averaging 24.5 points per contest in the tournament, had a quiet game for Germany with 15 points.

Teammate Ademola Okulaja matched Big Dirk's scoring output. Neither player, however, was able to carry the Germans.

"I thought they deserved to win the game tonight because without question they were the better defensive team," Germany coach Dirk Bauermann said.

As the game progressed, "it became increasingly difficult for us to run our offense," he added. "We stopped executing. They played a great defensive game and when you do that, you can beat anybody."

Shane Battier and James did a stellar job guarding Nowitzki, who scored 50 points in an NBA playoff contest this past season.

"Well, Dirk is one of those guys that's kind of unstoppable," James said.

"You just want to contain a guy like that. He got only 12 shot attempts, which is good defense for us. He's a good player, a phenomenal player."

Battier added: "Playing great defense always gives you a great chance to win a ballgame."

Four Americans scored in double figures: Carmelo Anthony (19), LeBron James (13), Joe Johnson (11) and Chris Bosh (10).

"The things that win games we did," Coach K said.

Anthony, who plays for the Denver Nuggets, ignited the U.S. at the start of the second half. He delivered two monster jams sandwiched around a 3-pointer, pushing a one-point halftime lead to 51-43.

Chris Paul's running jumper gave the Americans their biggest lead of the quarter, 62-48, at the point. That margin was short-lived.

Paul's rainbow-arc 3 dropped through the bottom of the net at the end of the third pushed the margin to 67-52.

"Unforced turnovers hurt us and against a team like the Americans you can't do that," said Okulaja, lamenting his team's 24 turnovers. He added: "I think the Americans were too good tonight" to squander their big lead.

In the final minute, the U.S. increased its lead to 20.

Center Brad Miller hadn't played in the game, but as is customary in blowouts wins fans like to remind coaches of this.

"Put Miller in," one fan shouted.

Miller's inside presence wasn't needed.

Team USA's other 11 players picked up the slack, with 10 steals, 15 assists to Germany's six and 10 points off turnovers.

"The things that win ballgames we did," Coach K said.

Both teams took turns holding the lead in the first quarter. Demond Greene's 3-pointer gave the Germans an 11-6 lead. The U.S. tied it at 14-all and 16-all. Sven Schultze's layup capped a 5-0 run for Germany.

Team USA led 23-21 entering the second quarter. The final three points of the first came on Dwight Howard's unconventional 3-point play, a putback that was the result of goaltending and a foul shot.

Dwyane Wade was poked in the right eye after missing a shot with 1:53 left in the first half. He went to the bench for the rest of the half.

Anthony converted a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the second as the U.S. snatched the final lead of the half, 40-39. There were nine ties and nine lead changes in the first two periods.

For much of the first half, the U.S. failed to attack the basket with consistency. Instead it opted to settle for long-range jump shots, attempting 20 3-pointers before the break. If the shots were falling, that would've been an effective strategy. But as the Germans employed a 2-3 zone, the U.S. didn't capitalize (it made five 3s in the first half) and didn't attack the rim with regularity. Overall, Coach K's squad missed 30 of 44 shots in the half.

Conversely, Germany was 12-for-29 from the field and took only seven 3-point shots.

"They put us in a position to miss shots," Krzyzewski said later, referring to Germany's tough defense. "But we kept composure and we didn't lose sight of it on the defensive end and that was the story of the game."