PORTLAND, Ore. -- Coach George Karl wants the U.S. national team to keep pressure on opposing point guards. The group got some practice Saturday with a scrimmage against guard Damon Stoudamire and a few more of the Portland Trail Blazers.

The U.S. team is in Portland for Sunday night's exhibition against Germany. The game is a tune-up for the World Championships starting next week in Indianapolis.

	Raef LaFrentz, left, and the U.S. beat Damon Stoudamire's Blazers 31-28 in a 20-minute scrimmage.

The U.S. team broke up the monotony of practicing against each other with a casual, 20-minute game against Portland's Stoudamire, Qyntel Woods, Ruben Patterson and Zach Randolph. Other players taking part included former Oregon guard Freddie Jones, taken in the first round of this year's draft by the Indiana Pacers.

"I got a good workout for the 20 minutes I was out there,'' Stoudamire said. "They worked me.''

The U.S. team beat their challengers, 31-28. Stoudamire had a chance to tie it, but missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

"If we could have had one more big man, we could have gotten them,'' he laughed.

The U.S. team includes Reggie Miller, Elton Brand, Andre Miller, Antonio Davis, Baron Davis, Jermaine O'Neal, Michael Finley, Paul Pierce, Raef LaFrentz, Ben Wallace, Shawn Marion and Jay Williams.

Stoudamire said he was impressed with Williams, the Duke guard who was taken second overall in the draft by the Chicago Bulls.

"You can see it in his game. You know he's got a lot of ability,'' Stoudamire said. "I definitely think he'll do well in the NBA.''

Williams got his ticket to the World Championship when Milwaukee Bucks guard Ray Allen withdrew because of injury.

Williams is the youngest player on the U.S. team at 20, 17 years younger than teammate Reggie Miller. So naturally, the soon-to-be-NBA rookie is taking a little good-natured ribbing.

When he was shooting around with Baron Davis after a recent practice, Davis challenged him to make a half-court basket.

"I get four chances, right?'' Williams asked.

"You get two chances,'' Davis said. "You're in the NBA now.''

Davis did not practice Saturday because of back spasms, and Karl said it was unclear whether he'd be able to play Sunday against Germany.

Brand also sat out Saturday with a mild right knee sprain that kept him out of the U.S. team's 84-54 exhibition victory against China last week in Oakland, Calif. His status for Sunday's game was uncertain. ^