Sure, it was ugly, but unlike previous Olympics, winning ugly is a perfectly acceptable result for the U.S. men’s basketball team.

When they suffered a lopsided loss to Puerto Rico on Sunday, many commentators questioned the Americans’ effort. But nobody could question their determination yesterday, when Allen Iverson scored 17 points despite a broken finger and Lamar Odom gave a heroic defensive effort as the U.S. scrapped its way past the hosts, 77-71.

While a six-point win over an unheralded Greek team isn’t exactly cause for celebration, it was very important for the U.S. team. Aided by a raucous home crowd, the Greeks have played far beyond expectations so far, as evidenced by their rout of Australia in the opener. Nonetheless, the Americans raced out to a double-digit lead, then withstood multiple Greek rallies and a healthy dose of home cooking from the referees to nab their first win of the Olympics.

The U.S. again struggled to make an outside shot, hitting just 4-of-21 from 3-point range. Subtract Allen Iverson’s 3-for-7 and it gets worse – the other players made a paltry 1-of-14. The U.S. also bricked 13 foul shots, helping to keep Greece in the game in the final minutes.

But unlike the Puerto Rico game, the Americans overcame their misfires with effort. LeBron James set the tone with a scintillating second quarter. First, he dove headfirst for a loose ball to earn a possession for his team. He followed up with consecutive steals that led to dunks and pushed the U.S. out to an 11-point lead. James ended up 5-for-5 on the night despite playing just 11 minutes, but he’s sure to see more action tomorrow against Australia.

The real hero, however, was Odom. The stat line says he only had eight points and seven rebounds, but his defense saved the U.S. time and again, especially in the final minutes.

With the Greeks making a final push to steal a win, they got some help from the whistles. A mystery foul on Tim Duncan sent him to the bench; shortly afterward Greek guard Nikos Zesis finished a drive to the rim by taking 17 steps and laying the ball in to cut the lead to 67-63.

Despite battling dehydration, an exhausted Odom then blocked two consecutive Greek forays to the rim to stem the tide. When Carlos Boozer left the door open by missing two straight free throws, Odom again came to the rescue. This time he not only altered a short attempt close to the hoop, he also secured the rebound and, after being fouled, made the free throws to clinch the win.

In retrospect, it was losing Odom, who fouled out in just 15 minutes, that was the key blow in the Puerto Rico game. He has rapidly become at least as indispensable as Duncan or Iverson.

As happy as he must be to get out of Dodge with a “road” win, Larry Brown still has to have some concerns about the U.S. team’s play. Two players in particular, small forwards Richard Jefferson and Carmelo Anthony, have proved about as useful as a third lip.

Jefferson offered up another dreadful performance – he was scoreless on seven shots – and one wonders if the Nets forward has been celebrating his $78 million extension with too much ouzo. Anthony, meanwhile, had been told to shoot less but failed to heed the advice, chucking up four misses in five minutes before taking a seat.

Team USA’s next opponents, the Aussies, look to be among the weaker Olympic squads, but nothing can be taken for granted. Brown has stuck with the same starting five; he should consider replacing Jefferson with Shawn Marion, who had an excellent game yesterday and looks more comfortable driving to the hoop against zone defenses than does Jefferson.

It wasn’t pretty, but it was an important win, both as an ice-breaker in the win column and a way to forget the Puerto Rico drubbing. The U.S. team has all kinds of flaws, but if they can get the small forwards straightened out and hit a jumper or two, they still can come away with the gold.