“I’m comfortable with us as a team right now”.
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Out of the break, a comfortable advantage got up to as many as 16 before getting too close for comfort late in the fourth quarter for a second straight game.
This team does, but has gotten him only 10 shots over the last two games.
“Serbia-Croatia is a classic the last 25 years and I think it’s time for us to do something, to fight 100 percent this game and I think we can beat them”, Croatia’s Dario Sakic said.
France played without Spurs star Tony Parker, who sustained a toe injury on Friday and watched from the bench.
Thompson finally had the three-point shooting eruption that everyone was expecting and reminded everyone that he was one of the Americans’ best players at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Venezuela kept it close much of the third quarter, but Australia’s dominating 28-13 final frame led to the decisive margin.
Thompson ended an Olympic-long slump with seven 3-pointers and 30 points, and the Americans needed nearly all of them to hold off France 100-97 on Sunday.
“Obviously, everybody wants us to win by a lot of points”, Durant said.
That’s on top of this being an uninspiring year for global teams, with Spain much worse without Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka, France looking shaky and Argentina barely hanging on with its aging core of the best team in national history. France cuts the lead down to single digits, 55-46, to end the first half, thanks to free throws from center Kim Tillie and a layup from Nando De Colo. Pool play is done and the quarterfinals are Wednesday. “So if you don’t score with them, the game is over”.
“We all know what it takes to win in the playoffs”, Durant said.
The American team, who is the two-time defending champions, have won a total of 22 consecutive Olympic games since losing to Argentina at the 2004 Athens semi-finals where they got the silver medal. Every team is going to come at us, so at the end of the day, we’re just trying to win. Same goes for Steph Curry – you know, the two-time reigning league MVP – and Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis and Chris Paul and a host of other studs who would have filled the holes on this current Team USA roster.
With a ten point lead three minutes into the second quarter, Coach K went with wholesale lineup changes, putting his starting unit back in the game. “We come into these games with the same mindset – to dominate”, Anthony said. He entered with just 11 points on 4-for-26 shooting in the first four games.
Kyrie Irving, who helped Cleveland win the National Basketball Association title in June, averages 12.0 rebounds and a team-best 6.0 assists while DeMarcus Cousins leads United States rebounders with 5.2 a game.
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Team USA also picked up blowout victories against China and Venezuela, both of which were eliminated from the tournament after combining for one win.Based on the Olympics setup, the United States will play the Group B fourth seed.
