“I think we’re learning more about one another, and our defense was there pretty much the whole game”. “With that being said, we play our game, but at the same time, if our man is open, we’re willing to make that pass”.
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When told he had been booed in pregame introductions, Durant seemed surprised: “No, I didn’t hear it. I’m just going to go up there, be my normal self and do my normal routine”. “We didn’t really talk about it”. Durant apparently didn’t notice when Green set a screen for him, freeing him to nail a 3-pointer and giving him a low five after the flawless execution of a two-man game that could terrorize the National Basketball Association next season. But then Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson came in and started raining 3-pointers and the Americans went on a 16-6 run to close out the quarter. “All I saw was “USA” across the chest”, said Durant, who scored 23 points to lead the team. “Argentina has four guys who have played, if you add their global experience, they’ve probably played I bet 800-1000 games for their country”.
With the second quarter almost half over during the United States’ 111-74 win over Argentina, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green finally took the floor as teammates. The highlight of the evening, however, belonged to Paul George. Will Carmelo become the first USA basketball player to ever win three Olympic medals?
Jordan introduced the United States to China by blocking center Wang Zhelin’s jumper and scoring an alley Oop from Kyle Lowry in the early minutes of the contest. But he still felt a hurdle to overcome.
“A lot of the times we’re thinking about the opponent”, Jordan said.
“We should have won, but the way we won was excellent”, Krzyzewski said.
What Gong wanted before the tip-off is for his 2015 FIBA Asia Championship winners to gain experience against the best, and the US, the team most people expect to capture the gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Games next month, are certainly that.
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Those who did get in were treated to a dominating performance by the U.S. Team USA outrebounded Argentina 53-30 and had a lopsided 22-5 edge on the offensive glass. No. 2 you already know the guys, I mean we know Ginobili, Nocioni, (Luis) Scola and (Carlos) Delfino, knowing in the sense that we’ve played against those guys a bunch of times. With DeAndre Jordan getting the warmest set of support from the fans, it’s safe to assume there were plenty of Los Angeles Clippers fans in the building, hence the relative hostility towards Durant and Green, with the Clippers-Warriors rivalry alive and well despite the one-sidedness to it last season. “Our young guys didn’t do that so that was good”.
