It was midway through the fourth quarter that the Argentinians began gathering at one end of the upper deck. Below them, a joyous group of Argentinians clad in blue and white jerseys sang and screamed and chanted.
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If you can’t beat ’em, jeer ’em.
RIO DE JANEIRO-The United States reaffirmed their status as gold medal favourites blowing away Argentina 105-78 on Wednesday to storm into the semi-finals of the Olympic men’s basketball tournament.
Anthony noticed the competitiveness of Group B, where the top four teams all finished 3-2, and wondered if Spain could dig its way out of its early hole. “And once we did that, we were able to play well on the offensive end and move the ball, and on defense cover for each other”.
Australia meets Serbia in the other semifinal.
“No doubt in my mind”, Kevin Durant said. Mirotic went off for 23 points against France, hitting five 3-point attempts along the way.
That embarrassment, as it has been characterized by the only remaining player from that team, Carmelo Anthony, was finalized with a knockout punch from Argentina that was the impetus for an overhaul of USA Basketball after it could only salvage a bronze medal. It was the efficient Kevin Durant we’ve come to expect. But they gave us their best punch early, and once we figured that out, we settled down, I think the adrenaline was going a little bit early in the game.
“I know for us, it’s one game or nothing”.
Scariolo, according to Eurohoops.net, said, “I can not say for sure that he is going to play”.
Order was restored in a hurry though, thanks to Kevin Durant’s 27 points and a 29-9 run in the first half that essentially put the game out of reach.
Opposing point guards have been having their way in Krzyzewski’s defense, driving to the rim, creating opportunities for their forwards and shooters alike, finishing in traffic with DeAndre Jordan and Demarcus Cousins in the middle. I thought we did that tonight.
By the end, DeMar DeRozan was practicing his 360 dunks, celebrating abounded on the US bench and the Argentinian fans in the crowd were more concerned with singing a song to taunt the Brazilian fans in attendance than they were with what was happening on the court.
For years, basketball purists have bemoaned the Americans’ flaws in global competition, from the isolation offense addiction to the rotating cast of Olympians. “All we’ve said is we have great respect for them”, said USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo, adding that Spain was one of the models he looked at when he took over the program in 2005.
– Tom Westerholm (@Tom_NBA)#USA lead 94-71 against #ARG but that won’t stop Argentina fans to cheer LOUDLY for their team!
DeMar DeRozan punctuated the blowout with a 360-degree dunk late.
By the end of the first quarter, the Americans already were up 25-21, with Durant leading the charge but the initial heavy Argentine pressure had forced USA coach Mike Krzyzewski to call his first time out just four-and-a-half minutes into the game to get his team focused.
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And Barkley was certainly right to note this: “You take a guy like Kyle Lowry, who is a hell of a player, he wants to score. They’ve got to have players that if they don’t get a shot, they’re not just going to stand around and mope”.
