Team USA enters the Olympic men’s basketball competition as the overwhelming favorite not only because of their success in Beijing and London, but as well as their dominant campaign throughout their buildup heading to Rio.
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Schedule and Venue: 6:00 p.m US EST at Carioca Arena in Olympic Park, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Kevin Durant led the USA with 25 points as the team shot.514 from the floor and attempted 45 free throws.
Durant scored eight points in the first quarter and Carmelo Anthony added eight as the US jumped out to a 30-10 lead after the first quarter, capped by Jimmy Butler’s fast break reverse layin at the buzzer.
Carmelo Anthony helped make a liar of Team USA Olympic coach Mike Krzyzewski.
“We know what’s our task at hand”, veteran Carmelo Anthony said. They qualified somehow. We can’t come out here and say, ‘Oh, we’re the United States and we’re supposed to win, ‘ or ‘We have this person and that person and we’re supposed to win.’ We have to be locked in every game.
LeBron James and Chris Paul passed on searching for more gold with Durant and Anthony, and plenty more top players who would have been on this roster also declined. “He’s one of the best players in the world”, said U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski.
“We just wanted to send a statement to the rest of the world”, Anthony said.
Losses have been rare on Olympic hardwood for the U.S., who boast an all-time record of 130-5 in Games competition and will be expected to add to that win column as they chase a third straight gold.
Former Valparaiso player Ryan Broekhoff had seven points, four rebounds and two steals in 14 minutes and 48 seconds of play coming off the bench for Australia. “I broke my sling on one of my shots, but it was still a 10, so we just adjusted and kept going”.
Team USA returns to Group A play on Monday when they face Venezuela.
Team USA played Team China twice in their exhibition schedule leading up to these Olympic games.
It’s the kind of dominance that’s rare even for the Olympics, but while history suggests the United States’ men’s basketball team should walk away with yet another gold, this group is largely untested on the Olympic stage.
“USA Basketball teams haven’t stayed in the Olympic Village since the 1988 teams did”, U.S.chief media officer Craig Miller told NPR.
The U.S. team had its global introduction Thursday with its Olympic news conference, answering plenty of questions about where they’re staying (the luxury yacht) and who’s not playing (LeBron James and Stephen Curry).
China features former National Basketball Association center Yi Jianlian and 2016 second-round draft picks Zhou Qi and Wang Zhelin.
“This result was already kind of expected before the game even started”, said China coach Wang Zhelin. DeMarcus Cousins quickly added two free throws of his own to tie the score at two.
DeRozan (USC 2009) and his U.S. teammates had very little trouble with China, jumping out to a 30-10 lead after one quarter and never looking back.
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The United States looked to be in big trouble in their first game after China got out to an early 2-0 lead, but they battled back and finished with a 119-62 victory.
