Leandro Barbosa scored 14 points for Brazil against the United States, but missed the one that could have tied the game at the buzzer. (FIBA)

Despite the absence of forwards Nene and Anderson Varejao, Brazil came within a basket of tying the United States at the end of regulation in Monday’s Group B matchup in the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey.

Fortunately for the Americans, Leandro Barbosa took the point-blank shot and – not surprisingly – missed. It was essentially a layup, and Barbosa blew it. He played well when his team was rolling, scoring eight points and making three of his five field-goal attempts in the first quarter. But when it mattered most, he crumbled under pressure. Barbosa shot just 2-for-13 the rest of the game and 3-for-13 from 3-point range.

Playing “small” in “big” games has haunted Barbosa for much of his NBA career, and it was probably the reason why he was traded this offseason from Phoenix to Toronto. During his time with the Suns when the team was out in front and playing loose, Barbosa (aka The Brazilian Blur) was at his best: penetrating, dishing, scoring. He is one of the best front-runners in the NBA.

“Leandro Barbosa is one of the best international players in the world,” U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski told FIBA.com.

At times, when The Brazilian Blur has it going, he’s nearly unstoppable. A career 12-point scorer in the NBA, Barbosa can score on anyone, and his first step maybe one of the quickest in the world.

But when the game gets in a halfcourt set and every possession is valued, Barbosa becomes tentative and his ball tends to get a little heavy. That’s Leandro Barbosa in a nutshell.

He had an opportunity to bail out his teammate Marcelo Huertas , who missed the first free throw and had to intentionally miss the second with time winding down. Huertas found Barbosa near the basket for the game-tying shot, but The Brazilian Blur got a little blurry and blinked. He missed a bunny!

Had he made THAT SHOT against the U.S., he could have been the hero of the tournament thus far and given his country an incredible opportunity for a monumental upset.

Had he made THAT SHOT, the Suns could rescind the trade (OK, maybe not).

But, he missed.

The United States escaped with a 70-68 victory and remained undefeated. Meanwhile, after winning its first two ballgames, the Brazilians have dropped their last two. They lost 80-77 on Wednesday to Slovenia, dropping them to third place in Group B.

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Suns backup point guard Goran Dragic scored 23 of his team-high 26 points in the fourth quarter. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

Those who watched the Phoenix Suns take apart the San Antonio Spurs in the fourth quarter of Game 3 of their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series were all wondering the same thing: Who is Goran Dragic?

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is probably losing sleep right about now thinking about Goran Dragic, who had scored just four points in the first two games of the series.

Spurs point guard Tony Parker is probably watching tape right now trying to figure how he got outplayed by a second-year guard playing in his first postseason.

And it’s a good thing Alvin Gentry is the head coach for the Suns because Mike D’Antoni would never have played Dragic deep into the fourth quarter in an important playoff game.

Through the first three quarters, Dragic had just three points. But something happened in the fourth quarter and Dragic caught lightning in a bottle, scoring 23 of his team-high 26 points in the fourth to lead the Suns to a stunning 110-96 victory in Game 3 and take a commanding 3-0 series lead.

Dragic and Leandro Barbosa led a Suns second unit that helped the Suns outscore the Spurs 39-24 in the fourth quarter. The Suns benched outscored the Spurs, 48-28, for the game.

“Steve who?” Gentry asked reporters during his postgame news conference, poking fun at the fact that he didn’t need his All-Star guard because Dragic played so well down the stretch.

The Suns’ backup point guard was a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter, and when he wasn’t nailing outside shots he was destroying the Spurs interior defense with his dribble penetration and some clever footwork and lefty floaters in the paint.

“Obviously, LB and Goran played great in the fourth quarter. They just stepped it up,” Gentry said of his backup guards, who combined for 39 points and seven 3-pointers. Barbosa had 13 points in 18 minutes and made five of seven shots from the field.

[The Spurs] were switching and we said we had to attack the switches, and I thought [Goran] and LB did a great job attacking the switches,” said Gentry, who should be credited for staying with his second unit for the entire fourth quarter.

“When we put him in the game, we told him ‘You have to be aggressive,’ ” Gentry said of Dragic. “Even at the chance of making a mistake he’s gotta be aggressive because when he is I think people forget what a great athlete he is. He’s as fast with the ball than anyone we got on our team. When he’s playing with confidence, he’s got a lot of tricks and shoots the ball exceptionally well.”

“I love that kid. He’s a teacher’s pet, and he has worked so hard to get to where he is right now,” Gentry said of the 6-foot-3 guard from Slovenia, who was acquired by the Suns through in a draft-day trade in 2008. “He’ll do anything to please the coaching staff and the guys on this team. I’m just happy for him. You won’t meet a better kid.”

With Dragic and Barbosa taking turns in creating offense for the highest scoring team in the league, the Suns were able to chip away at the Spurs’ lead and Barbosa’s layup and 3-pointer with less than 10 minutes left in the fourth gave the Suns an 80-76 lead.

“It’s been tough for Leandro simply because J-Rich is playing so well there hasn’t been a lot of time for LB to play. But when he’s gotten in there, he’s done some good things,” Gentry said of Barbosa.

“In general, their second team kicked our butt,” Popovich said. “Their second team was fantastic. Their whole team showed a lot of character.”

The Spurs now face elimination, and no team in NBA history has won a series after being down 0-3.

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