The US Team-led by Olympic veterans Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony-are the heavy favorites to win the gold medal once again.
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Former Milwaukee Bucks man Yi Jianlian, who was selected in the same National Basketball Association draft as Durant, topped the scoring for China with 25 points to go with five rebounds and a block.
The Golden State Warriors star scored 30 points four years ago in the gold-medal game, when the Americans beat Spain to gold.
Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Kyrie Irving and the rest of Team USA will play China for a third time in roughly three weeks.
DeMarcus Cousins added 17 while Pacers forward Paul George had 15 off the bench.
“It’s not easy, I know that the scoreboards make it look like it is, but these games are not easy”, said Sue Bird, the 35-year-old American point guard and three-time gold medalist. After that upset, team United States of America revamped their approach to the Olympics game, and has since been a dominant force in the worldwide basketball scene; and Carmelo played a huge role in all the gold medal efforts.
“Coach K” was an assistant coach to the 1992 “Dream Team”, the 1992 US men’s Olympic basketball team, widely regarded as “the greatest sports team ever assembled”.
The U.S. team had its worldwide 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). “That’s some that’s preached daily, and it’s something we accept” Cousins said. They stood near the basket and grabbed errant shots, easily putting them back for layups.
Irving, the Cleveland Cavaliers star, knocked in four 3-pointers in the second half for his 12 points. Here are five players fans will want to keep an eye on.
The men’s team was taken to the Port of Rio, where the players boarded a cruise ship, Silver Cloud, their home for the duration of the Games. I think it helped our country to enjoy what we’re feeling now. During the third quarter the former FIBA World Cup MVP showed that he can get buckets as well.
Anthony was responding to questions about a TMZ report that several players thought they were walking into a spa on their day off Wednesday night, but wound up in a brothel.
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Krzyzewski did not address the situation during his postgame news conference.
