Durant and his teammates certainly did that. They fell to the U.S.in the final game at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics. In Rio, Argentina carried four players from that gold-medal team, all of them nearing the end of their careers.
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Manu Ginobili was still one of the best players on the globe back then, soon to be one of the most respected performers in the National Basketball Association during his long (and still current) run with the San Antonio Spurs.
– Tom Westerholm (@Tom_NBA)#USA lead 94-71 against #ARG but that won’t stop Argentina fans to cheer LOUDLY for their team!
But this year’s players were still quarterfinalists against a USA squad whose past two games were three-point wins against France and Serbia.
Durant, one of the few Americans who shot well, finished with 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field, including 7 of 9 from 3-point range.
“We tended to think it was going to be easier than we thought”, Durant said.
Almost written off after two losses to open the Rio Games, Spain is back in the men’s basketball semifinals for the third straight time after a 92-67 rout of Parker and France.
United States’ Kevin Durant, left, and DeAndre Jordan, right, react on the bench during a quarterfinal round basketball game against Argentina at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. “The longevity, the way we played the game, all the things we accomplished, the friendships and the camaraderie we created”. Fans were expecting two powerhouse teams USA and Spain to battle for Gold, but they meet a little early for the Semifinals USA vs. Spain on Friday, 19th August 2016 at in the Carioca Arena, Rio de Janeiro Brazil. After scuffling around way more than necessary during preliminary rounds of the Olympic tournament, the good old Estados Unidos showed up for its quarterfinal elimination game against Argentina and found the answer it was seeking. “These games are going to come, and they’re going to be tougher and tougher”.
“We got our swagger back”, said George, who had three steals, 17 points and eight rebounds against Argentina.
Leading up to their matchup against Team Argentina, Team USA was facing a lot of questions regarding their status in this tournament. I’m so incredibly lucky to have stayed healthy, to have played with some of the same guys for so long and having done so well with my team – it’s been an wonderful run. “Guys took it personal”. You could see the anger in the face of Kevin Durant, and he was going to do something about it. DeMar (DeRozan) wants to score.
“I know for us, it’s one game or nothing”. When they put that team together in the future, they have to realize we can’t have just really, really great offensive players. The US defense, which had been missing their last several games, suddenly reappeared. Curry has similar skills. “Beating them would be a huge accomplishment for us”. US coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “That’s what happened. We turned it over four times, we didn’t contest Durant four times, and it was like a 20-0 run”.
Facundo Campazzo had powered the early assault by Argentina, but once George checked in, that came to an end.
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“Every time I watch ’em I wish I was out there”, James said in an interview Thursday with ESPN. “And as fierce a competitor that as a coach I’ve had to face in my entire time in global basketball”, Krzyzewski said. “I just tried to play and be free out there and not worry about anything”. He opened the door to that a bit after Wednesday’s game.
