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RIO DE JANEIRO -- The blowouts are over. The Olympics are underway.After nothing but pushovers this summer, the U.S. mens basketball team faced someone who pushed back.This is the real world now and thats good for us, coach Mike Krzyzewski said.Finally tested, Carmelo Anthony and Kyrie Irving had the answers.Anthony scored 31 points on the night he became the U.S. mens Olympic career scoring leader, combining with Irving for all the Americans baskets in the fourth quarter of a 98-88 victory over Australia on Wednesday night.Irving -- born in Australia -- added 19 points, including a 3-pointer with 1:35 left after Australia had closed within four.A team that won its first two games by a combined 101 points could never get a comfortable lead -- and for a while couldnt get one at all. The Australians, with big bodies inside, quality point guards to counter the American pressure and a wealth of NBA championship experience, stood toe to toe with the team that had blown them out of the last two Olympics in the quarterfinals.But Anthony, the first U.S. male to play in four Olympics, steadied the Americans in the first competitive game most of this new team had ever experienced.We kind of expected a game like this, a physical game, a grind-out game from playing against Australia over the past couple years, Anthony said, and going into tonight we knew it was going to come down to the end of the game where we were really going to have to buckle down and focus in and make plays down the stretch.Kevin Durant capped off the scoring with two free throws, making him the only other player than Irving or Anthony to score in the period.The Americans, who had barely broken a sweat in Brazil, trailed early in the fourth quarter before Anthony hit a flurry of 3-pointers to put the Americans on top.Patty Mills, the tournament scoring leader, had 30 points for Australia.After five easy exhibitions preceding routs of China and Venezuela to open the tournament, the Americans trailed 72-70 with about 9 minutes left. Anthony scored to tie it, hit a 3-pointer to give the Americans the lead for good, and then hit a couple more 3s that pushed it to 83-76.The team staying on a luxury cruise ship could never relax until scoring the final five points in the last 27 seconds on free throws, with Irving hitting the first three.The Americans, so carefree in their opener that reserves DeMar DeRozan and Jimmy Butler played rock, paper, scissors to determine who would shoot a free throw, realized they were in a fight in this one.It got real, Paul George said. It definitely got real.An enraged Krzyzewski screamed at an official after Andrew Boguts hard foul on Irving just in front of the U.S. bench in the third quarter, his face looking as red as the shirts the coaching staff wore.Bogut finished with 15 points for the Australians, who have never won a medal but four of their players own NBA rings. They nearly became the first team to knock off the Americans in the Olympics since Krzyzewski took over in 2005.We have a pretty gritty group thats pretty tough and we battled all night, Bogut said.Australia had opened the Olympics with impressive victories over France and Serbia, both ranked among the top six in the world. Then the Aussies gave the team ranked No. 1 all it could handle.The Americans clinched a spot in the medal round, though that was never going to be in doubt.This game, though, was.It was the second straight game the Americans were tied after one quarter. They quickly blew away Venezuela after it was 18-all, but the only second-quarter surge in this one was made by Australians.They used a 15-3 burst to make it 46-39, and Krzyzewski actually needed a timeout to calm his team that by then can usually make its postgame plans.Anthony moved past LeBron James as the U.S. career leader in Olympic scoring and did it quickly, using a hot start to make up the 11-point advantage James had entering the game.Irving once considered playing for Australia, where he was born while his father was playing there professionally. He exchanged a pregame hug with Matthew Dellavedova, his former backup in Cleveland, but things didnt stay nice for long.The Aussies hit hard and the Americans hit back, with George getting a technical foul for a shot at Dellavedova.It was a welcome test for the Americans, who have been so dominant under Krzyzewski that it sometimes seems the U.S. players are the only ones who dont make a gold medal sound assured.Theyve said it wont come easily.Now theyve finally had a game that wasnt.---Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney Tony Pollard Youth Jersey . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont. 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SAN FRANCISCO -- That visible circle in the back pockets of big leaguers -- typically a sure sign of smokeless tobacco -- might be far less common next season.Players new to the majors wont be able to dip next year without risk of penalty, a provision under baseballs tentative five-year labor agreement reached late Wednesday.I think the smokeless tobacco ban is both logical and I am thankful, Los Angeles Angels reliever Huston Street said in an email to The Associated Press on Thursday night. I understand choice, but choosing to die sooner is not one I support.It is possible more than the 12 current major league cities with laws either in place or headed that way will have tobacco bans by the start of the 2017 season. Thats what many health experts and advocates in the prevention efforts are hoping for, at least, though they certainly would have preferred a tobacco ban across the board for baseball to set an example for youth and the sports future.The new collective bargaining agreement reached last night by Major League Baseball owners and players takes a major step forward in removing tobacco from the game by prohibiting all new MLB players from using smokeless tobacco, like chew, dip and snuff, said Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Combined with the fact that 12 major league cities already have prohibitions on tobacco use at their baseball parks by all players and team personnel, baseball is now on a clear path to become tobacco-free in the very near future.While we had hoped for a complete prohibition on smokeless tobacco in baseball in the new agreement, this is a major step forward and represents the first time the players and owners have a made a clear commitment to fully eliminating smokeless tobacco use in baseball, he said.Right-hander Cal Quantrill , a first-round draft pick by the Padres this year taken No. 8 overall out of Stanford, isnt sure what the ban will mean for prospects working their way toward the top. The son of former big league pitcher Paul Quantrill, Cal Quantrill doesnt chew.Its hard to say if there is less dipping, but I would say people definitely are more aware of the consequences, said Quantrill, who pitched between the rookie level and A-ball in 2016.With cancer concerns at the forefront since Hall of Famer Tony Gwynns June 2014 death at age 54 from salivary gland cancer complications following yyears of dipping, the dangers of long-term tobacco use have become a national issue for the national pastime.dddddddddddd. Gwynns family filed a wrongful death lawsuit earlier this year against the tobacco industry.Sounds like a good start, Giants head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner said of the ban. Those players should be used to it as that is already in place in the minor leagues.Five years ago, San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy used a hypnotist to quit chewing tobacco. A close friend and old teammate of Gwynns, he has dipped off and on since, facing a constant battle of trying to end the decades-old habit dating to his playing days.White Sox ace Chris Sale quit chewing after Gwynn died .I would think that there would be a lot less in the near future, Giants Gold Glove shortstop Brandon Crawford said in an email.For the last five seasons, big league players were prohibited from carrying tobacco products, including tins and packages, onto the field when fans were in the ballpark. But in the clubhouses, indoor batting cages and other out-of-sight spots, the tell-tale signs were there.This reported agreement between Major League Baseball and its Players Association is a victory for the health of new professional players and young players all around the nation who look up to them as role models, said Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., ranking member of the House committee on Energy and Commerce. The devastating health effects of chewing tobacco are well known, and any opportunity to limit its use at the professional level is a welcome development.In the visiting clubhouse at San Franciscos AT&T Park, there will be no smokeless tobacco. Thats part of the reason clubhouse manager Abe Sylvestri and his staff now has candy jars on two shelves with a dozen or so options -- providing an alternative for players who typically chew, and just a quick sugar jolt for anyone else who might need it.We wont be supplying it at all, Sylvestri said, not worth it.Tim Flannery, former Giants third base coach and a ex-teammate and close friend of Gwynn, appreciates the step and offered an old-school idea.I think its time. In the minor leagues for years its been banned, Flannery said. If a guy really needs a fix he can sneak up the tunnel like the cigarette days. ' ' '