Boris Diaw enjoyed a successful return to action as France ended up convincingly defeating gutsy Portugal 86-64 in their opening game of the EuroBasket warm-up tournament in Paris.

Les Bleus captain Diaw has been unable to train with his national side for the past three weeks because of an insurance wrangle with his NBA side the Phoenix Suns, but he finally received clearance to play just minutes before tip-off on Friday.

He scored only four points on the night, but his mere presence on court would have lifted the French, who registered their fifth win in six warm-up games.

		Tony Parker had a game-high 21 points for France

The hosts were nowhere near their best but had a game-high 21 points from fit-again San Antonio Spurs star Tony Parker, superb throughout and back on the Stade Pierre de Coubertin court he last played on in 2001 with former club side Paris Basket.

Portugal, who will also play in EuroBasket next month for the first time since 1951, suffered their second defeat in three days, following on from an 85-65 reverse to Spain on Tuesday.

But like against their Iberian neighbours, they again provided game opposition to one of Europe's leading sides before fading away late on, Joao Santos finishing their top scorer with 11 points.

The first quarter, which ended 13-12 in favour of the French and included six points from Parker, was notable for some poor shooting from both sides.

France upped the pace slightly in the second quarter, Denver Nuggets forward Yakhouba Diawara (16 points overall) especially prolific with a 12-point haul that included a trio of three-pointers.

However, the Portuguese stuck at it and a last-gasp three-pointer on the half-time buzzer by Paulo Simao brought them to within six points (37-31) of the French going into the second half.

Diaw, who will have had next to no practice with Les Bleus, had played 9:56 by that time, and although he had not scored a basket, he was gently easing himself back into action.

Parker's three-pointer on 8:30 opened up a 13-point cushion (44-31) for the French, but within a couple of minutes, the resilient Portuguese were back to within three points (48-45).

An alley-oop, fed by Parker and finished unforgivingly by Diaw, brought the crowd to its feet with 2:45 left in the quarter and pushed France 58-48 ahead. However, by the end of the period, Les Bleus were still just seven points clear, 61-54.

The fourth quarter was nip and tuck but France were never in danger of relinquishing their lead.

Two three-pointers from the ebullient Parker in the final minute rammed the final nails in Portugal's coffin.