Spain beat France 92-67 earlier Wednesday, its fourth straight victory after two losses to open the Olympics. Carmelo Anthony was at the helm of that sputtering start, going 0-of-4 in the first quarter, then blowing an alley-oop from Klay Thompson. This time around, however, stalwarts like Manu Ginobili, Andres Nocioni, Luis Scola and Carlos Delfino – NBA veterans, all – could only watch as a younger and fresher Team USA roared past them and into the semifinals of the 2016 Olympics. “The effort defensively was outstanding tonight”.
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US requires the combination of Kevin Durant and Paul George force when battling Spain.
George and Butler handled the defense Wednesday, Lowry made sure the ball kept moving on offense, and Durant, whether he cared or not, was the main reason the US won.
Kevin Durant led Team USA with 27 points, adding seven rebounds and six assists, while almost doubling-up his teammates’ work from outside the arc: Durant shot 7-9 from long range, while his teammates missed 20 of 24 looks from long range. Gold medals in Beijing and London testify to the fact no one dared not to play hard with those two in charge.
Marianne Johannes scored 13 to lead France, which will play Serbia for the bronze medal on Saturday.
“I don’t think I inspired them just because I scored points”, he said following practice at the Flamengo Club, a short drive from scenic Leblon Beach. “I was telling myself before I left my room today that I do my best when I don’t care if we win or lose”. “It may be different for other players, but for me, I’m more free and more aggressive and the game is way more fun for me if I don’t care about the outcome”. When I was on the perimeter I tried to beat my man.
Team USA revved up the defense, moved the ball while attacking as a unit and with some second-unit fire, unloaded a frightening 27-2 run, including 20 straight points, to seize control early in the second quarter.
“We couldn’t hit a shot at the beginning”, center DeAndre Jordan said. Krzyzewski also kept Durant in the game for awhile with George, Cousins, Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler, the lineup that led the USA comeback.
The match was played at the Carioca Arena 1 before some 11,700 spectators, according to official records.
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But with so much talent the United States were never going to go down without a fight. Both teams are coming in with all kinds of momentum. “It’s a great environment to play in”. They made it look easy by the end, when DeMar DeRozan gave the fans some added entertainment with a 360-degree dunk in the final minutes. “We were one unit tonight, and we’re going to need that going forward.”Maybe an assist should go to the Argentina crowd.Inside a packed Carioca Arena 1, where the Argentines were there to see what turned out to be the final game of their famous Golden Generation (Manu Ginobili, Andres Nocioni, Luis Scola, Carlos Delfino), the National Basketball Association players who don’t see this sort of spirit stateside seemed to marvel at it early.Yet over time, it was the Americans who stole the spotlight back”. “Guys took it personal”.
