Carmelo Anthony exploded for 35 points as the odds-on tournament favourites overturned a 45-36 halftime deficit to win their fourth straight game in a physical Group D clash.

"We've been used to beating teams by 20-25 points and we thought we came out thinking like that," Anthony told reporters.

"They played us real tough but we knew at halftime we couldn't let the game slip out of our hands. There was some trash-talking but it was nothing personal.

"We're all competitors. They wanted to win and we wanted to win. That was the toughest game we've had."

The U.S. endured a torrid first half but outscored Italy 35-19 in the third quarter as Anthony and Dwyane Wade sparked a furious American comeback. Wade finished with 26 points.

Marco Belinelli led Italy with 25 points as the Olympic silver medallists, already guaranteed a place in the knockout stage, dropped their first game.

The Americans, aiming to end a six-year Olympic or world title drought, had already qualified for the last 16 after three comfortable wins in their previous round-robin games.

The U.S. finished an embarrassing sixth at the last world championship in Indianapolis in 2002 and had to settle for bronze at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

They won the last of their three world titles in 1994 and their last Olympic gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Games.