China scored the first two points of the game, managing to tie with Team USA 4-4 in the first few minutes of the contest.
Advertisement
Venezuela’s John Cox, who is Kobe Bryant’s first cousin, had a team-high 19 points. They won the two games by a combined 101 points, recovering from a 16-15 deficit to edge Venezuela 113-69 on Monday.
It was a very different story in the second, when the Americans flexed their muscle at both ends, reeled off 13 straight points in one stretch and took complete control. They beat the hosts, Mexico, in front of a hostile crowd. The offence wouldn’t stop there, eventually outscoring Venezuela by 20 points in the fourth. Yet despite the 44-point victory, Team USA did not look dominant at the start of this game.
San Antonio Spurs’ Manu Ginobili added 12 points in Argentina’s win against Nigeria 94-66 in each team’s Rio Olympic debut in the early hours of Monday. Instead, they were shunted into a last-chance tournament for a last wild-card spot, where they wound up losing in the final to France. Aside from these, the team also has three retired National Basketball Association players. And Venezuela is not on anyone’s list of basketball powers.
United States’ Kevin Durant (5) moves the ball around Venezuela’s Dwight Lewis (2) during a men’s basketball game at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. They dropped their first game 86-62 to Serbia.
The way the feisty and physical Venezuelans came out is a reminder of the one thing that is guaranteed when the Americans take the court: They’re going to get their opponents’ best shot. It would probably be useful to keep that defeat in mind, because as heavily-favored as the current group of American women is to win the gold medal here, that 1992 team was expected to be almost as dominant. That’s something we’ve accepted as a team. Why, here’s Paul George, an all-NBA talent who nearly beat the Toronto Raptors single-handedly in the playoffs, to replace him.
Things changed, ever so slowly, in the second quarter. With six minutes left in the first half, Thompson air balled a three-point attempt, which drew a negative reaction from the crowd. It felt like the dagger.
Kevin Durant, DeMarcus Cousins, Carmelo Anthony and the rest of Team USA just sent a statement to the rest of their rivals after scoring a 119-62 win over China on the opening day. Team USA led 43-24.
Australia will have two ball-handlers – Matthew Dellavedova and Patty Mills – who run the pick-and-roll better than anybody the USA has faced in its five exhibition games or its two games in Rio.
As the second half unfolded, it was American dominance all over the arena.
Advertisement
Jordan also went 6-for-7 along with George, as Team USA would shoot a gaudy 55.4 percent from the field, 40.9 percent from the 3-point line, and 81.3 percent from the free throw line. Jianlian was the only player to score in double digits for his team.
