After winning yet another Olympic Games gold medal, American veteran Carmelo Anthony called time on his worldwide career.
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Carmelo Anthony became the first American man to ever win four Olympic medals in basketball and the first man to ever win three gold medals in basketball, earning his third gold medal Sunday after winning bronze in 2004, gold in 2008 and gold in 2012. The Americans’ defense was stifling on Sunday, holding Serbia to.377 shooting from the floor and.167 (4-of-24) from three-point territory. The second quarter saw the US outscore Serbia by a 34-14 margin and never looked back.
The latest iteration of the USA men’s team is no longer a collection of the best players on offer.
Kyrie Irving also joined some elite company after the win, as he is now one of four players to win an Olympic gold medal and National Basketball Association championship in the same season. The USA defeated Serbia in the gold medal match by a final score of 96-66 on Sunday.
Turning Point: Durant had a steal and slam to put the US up 33-22 with 6:57 left in the third quarter. I know just two ways: you either play basketball or you play basketball to win.
The Americans led 19-15 at the end of the first quarter, but it was all United States of America in the second quarter racing out to a 52-29 halftime lead.
He’ll also retire as the all-time leading scorer in men’s U.S. Olympic play with 336 points, as well as the program’s all-time leading rebounder. At his post-game news conference, he was asked what he’s most proud of, considering he has coached three very different types of American teams at the Summer Games.
Carmelo Anthony scored seven points and grabbed seven boards.
Durant finished with 30 and DeMarcus Cousins added 13 in a balanced US attack. This year’s Olympic squad included only one All-NBA first team choice (DeAndre Jordan), down from the complete set who made the trip to Barcelona. All 12 USA players scored in the game.
The team survived some close calls along the way, but veteran leaders like Melo made sure they didn’t them the country, or themselves, down.
Congrats to Melo (and coaches Jim Boeheim and Mike Hopkins). The United States weren’t without their struggles in this Olympic run, but came together for an impressive finale that cemented their run as a successful one.
For Spain, the silver was its first medal in Olympic women’s basketball.
The second half was a predictable in-game party for the Americans, with Durant cleared to serve as head cheerleader at the end and the lead stretching as high as 41 points, all of which banished the memories of those nervy three single-digit victories in their first seven games here. The total ties the record for most points by a player in the gold medal game, which he shares with Adrian Dantley. It remains to be seen what form of activism he will take upon his return to the United States, but his country’s highly charged environment clearly was not far from his mind in Rio, even during an emotionally satisfying victory celebration.
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“So for me, I’m hanging these things up USA basketball-wise”.
