“We had to adjust and adapt to how this game was going. This is a different game, we’re still getting used to it”.
Advertisement
Credit to Venezuela for playing tough in the first 1.5 quarters and keeping it competitive. Paul George came off the bench and lit up the Venezuelans while the same usual suspects continued to attack when they were on the floor. Kevin Durant was on fire and led the Americans with 25 points on 10-for-14 shooting en route to a huge victory.
With Venezuela showing the same determination to slow the game down by any means necessary – and scrap as hard as it can – like it displayed in Chicago when the teams met July 29, Team USA unexpectedly found itself locked in an 18-18 tie after a period. with big men DeMarcus Cousins and DeAndre Jordan both saddled with two fouls each. David Cubillan was not Jimmy Butler’s teammate at Marquette. The first round win gives Krzyzewski his seventeenth consecutive Olympic victory in a tournament that is all but virtually won by the American team.
“The USA team is the best team in the world, but there’s a lot of good teams here”, he said. He picked up two early fouls and scored one point in the first half. The United States also struggled with turnovers.
That 24-22 deficit was 31-22 three minutes later, 41-24 five minutes later and 48-26 at halftime. This comes on the heels of Saturday’s game, in which the Americans turned the ball over just 9 times in the entire game. In the process, Carmelo Anthony (14 points) made history by overtaking Michael Jordan for third all-time in scoring for Team USA. The two teams will square off on Wednesday, and only one team can remain unblemished. However, the Chinese team, who has previously lost to team US in two exhibition games last month by an average of almost 50 points, managed to double their point output in the second quarter.
Team USA Men’s Swimming’s Townley Haas will compete in the 200-meter freestyle at 8 p.m. Tonight, Team USA will take on Venezuela, and here is when to watch and how to watch on TV and via live stream online. Team USA didn’t put on a flawless offensive performance, but it wasn’t needed to get the victory. Even enough. And whether it’s possible for another more talented team to mimic Venezuela’s game plan, it worked to near-perfection for those first 12 minutes: Try to beat up the bigger, badder Americans.
Venezuela, which fell to Serbia 86-62 in its first game, is in desperate need of a victory in order to stay afloat in the tournament but will have to avoid another blowout against the USA without it’s own National Basketball Association player, Brooklyn Nets point guard Greivis Vasquez.
As a team, the United States got off to a slow start, but pulled away, by outscoring Venezuela 95-51 over the final three quarters. George led Team USA with 20 points.
Advertisement
The United States looks to continue running the table after a painless 2-0 start to the tournament.
