The game was all but decided as the teams retook the floor in the third, but the usa would not coast the rest of the way.
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United States: Jimmy Butler, Kevin Durant, DeAndre Jordan, Kyle Lowry, Harrison Barnes, DeMar DeRozan, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins, Paul George, Draymond Green, Carmelo Anthony.
Shaking off a sluggish, sloppy start and maybe some Brazilian boredom, the Americans regrouped in the second quarter and romped over Venezuela 113-69 on Monday, taking another step toward a possible third straight gold medal. The Americans led 35-9 after the first quarter and by 43 at the half en route to a 42nd consecutive Olympic win.
Miroslav Raduljica added 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting for Serbia, part of an worldwide basketball power in the old Yugoslavia but absent from the Olympics since 2004, when it competed as Serbia and Montenegro.
Bogut said after the injury his plans were still to play in the Olympics, there was just the matter of how the knee felt.
Although the United States of America are one of the most dominant teams in all of sports, they still maintain a relatively close relationship with their fans, many of whom have followed the current generation of players since they were in college.
SOMETHING TO PROVE: While Klay Thompson played well defensively in the opening game against China, he struggled through a 1-for-6 shooting performance – which likely means a breakout game tonight since Team USA can nearly call its shots.
Both US basketball teams opened with dominated victories.
“You go into the game thinking that maybe today is the day you can beat them because it is not impossible”, offered a hopeful Spanish captain Laia Palau.
Playing in front of a small, sleepy crowd at the Youth Arena, the USA took a few moments to shake off the cobwebs but quickly turned on the style as they sped to a commanding 54-37 halftime lead.
Five players on the national team and head coach Geno Auriemma have ties to the University of CT where the women’s game has strong support. “They have to have a really, really bad game for us to have a chance to win it”. A few minutes later the lead was over 20 and the rout was on as Taurasi and Brittney Griner waved their arms to get a “USA” chant started. They scored a single time on their first six possessions and needed to find a groove that ended up being sought out by Durant.
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China has appeared in nine Olympic Games but the national team has not yet won a medal in the prestigious quadrennial sporting event. So playing against the US, who’s been here every Olympics and world champions and last Olympic gold medalists, what can you expect more?
