THESSALONIKI, Greece -- Deron Williams, a guard at Illinois, hit five 3-pointers and finished with 23 points, leading the United States to a 109-84 victory over China at the World Junior Basketball Championships on Friday.

The Americans built a 14-point lead by halftime and were never seriously challenged.

The U.S. team, which finished second to Spain in the last world under-19 tournament in 1999, improved to 2-0. China lost its second straight game.

The United States plays Nigeria on Saturday.

In other games Friday, Lithuania beat Malaysia 107-39; Slovenia defeated Nigeria 102-65; Puerto Rico stopped Iran 92-66; and Turkey edged Korea 81-80.

The 16-nation tournament was moved from Malaysia because of fears of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS.