INDIANAPOLIS -- The United States built a big early lead with layups instead of dunks, saving its highlight material for later in the game.

	A limited crowd in the press section saw Ben Wallace slam one down on Algeria.

With Paul Pierce and Elton Brand providing an inordinate amount of the early offense, the Americans scored the game's first 13 points and cruised to a 110-60 victory over Algeria on Thursday night in their first game of the World Championships.

''It was a tuneup game for us,'' Pierce said. ''We're still kind of getting used to the atmosphere.''

The U.S. team didn't do anything particularly fancy until late in the third quarter, when Jermaine O'Neal's dunk seemed to inspire his teammates. Shawn Marion followed with a jam off a behind-the-back pass from Pierce, and Ben Wallace threw down the evening's hardest dunk off a bounce pass from Baron Davis early in the fourth.

Pierce finished with 22 points, scoring 16 in the first quarter, and Michael Finley and Brand added 17 apiece.

Although Algeria trailed by only 19 points at halftime, the runners-up from the African Championships were hopelessly outmatched. The Algerians relied almost exclusively on the 3-point shot, often taking their attempts from well behind the 20½-foot arc.

The U.S. team will get a tougher test Friday night against Germany, which defeated China 88-76 behind 30 points from NBA All-Star Dirk Nowitzki.

''Germany is a better team. Dirk Nowitzki is always a tough matchup problem,'' O'Neal said. ''We're going to have to go out and play defense tomorrow.''

The Americans were without Reggie Miller, who could remain sidelined until Monday by a sore ankle. Pierce more than made up for his absence, single-handedly outscoring the entire Algerian team in the first quarter.

Brand scored 11 of the U.S. team's first 13 points, and Pierce scored the next nine. Someone else finally got on the scoreboard for the Americans when Andre Miller converted his own miss for a 24-10 lead with 2:25 left in the first quarter.

Algeria didn't score its first point until 5:52 remained in the first quarter, and the Algerians missed their first five attempts of the game before Amine Benramdane hit a 3-pointer from almost 30 feet away.

''We were weak on defense, but for this young team it was a good thing to score 60 points against the U.S.,'' coach Billal Faid said.

The Algerians hit their next two shots -- both from 3-point range -- to pull to 16-10, but Pierce hit a 3-pointer with eight seconds left and the U.S. team closed the quarter with a 16-3 run for a 32-13 lead.

An 8-0 run to open the second quarter made it 40-13, although Algeria got its deficit down to 19 by halftime by making eight 3-pointers.

The Americans pulled further away early in the third quarter, and Raef LaFrentz had a tip-in with 1.4 seconds left to give the U.S. its 50-point margin of victory.

''The team did a good job of continuing and playing 40 minutes of basketball,'' coach George Karl said. ''It's a nine-game journey, and every day we have to think about improving.''