Up next for both teams is the quarterfinals. France became the first team of the tournament to outrebound the USA, 35-29.
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One of the NBA’s top shooters, Thompson hit only 15 percent of his shots before Sunday. He hot another 3-pointer to give US another double-digit lead.
USA guard Jimmy Butler also chimed in on Team USA’s lacklustre performance, saying “We get lazy, because we’re so athletic”.
Nigeria’s 90-76 upset of Croatia on Saturday means all six teams go into the final three-pronged round of games with a chance of finishing in the top four and advancing to the quarterfinals.
Play of the game: The French had just cut the deficit to four with crunch time fast approaching. Venezuela trailed 16-6 after the first quarter and that was after scoring four points in the final 27 seconds of the frame. Maybe it has one more run left?
This is a bumpy road in Rio, but at least the Americans know Klay Thompson is finally along for the ride.
The Team USA assistant/Minnesota Timberwolves head coach and renowned defensive guru is trying his best to cajole greatness out of this group, barking as he always does on the sidelines while talking and teaching behind the scenes.
Thompson continued his resurgence in the second half, 7-of-13 on three-pointers, for 30 points that nearly tripled his points-scored through the first four games of group play.
US managed to hold on to the lead to beat France by three points.
The play of the game came from Kyrie Irving in the fourth quarter.
Paul George also echoed Durant’s statements and tempered the high expectations for Team USA. DeAndre Jordan had 13 points.
Inserting Green at center might not be the change Team USA needs to make. Kyrie Irving leads the way with seven assists, and 19 of Team USA’s 22 baskets have come off assists. Moreover, despite the fact that China did not win any game in the preliminary round, Yin, who plays for Guangdong Southern Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association, recorded an impressive average of 20.5 points, 0.8 assists and 7.8 rebounds. “So if you have just a little bit of let-up, they took advantage of it”.
“The luxury (their opponents) have is that they’ve been together for so long”, George said.
France kept it close early and was down by only nine points at the half, 55-46, as they kept finding ways to get through the American defensive press. The USA beat France by 3 just a day ago. De Colo, by the way, finished with 18 points and five assists, continuing an excellent tournament for the reigning EuroLeague MVP.
Second quarter, 4:40, 42-35 USA: Klay Thompson has been key for USA, and his 3-pointer put the Americans back up by double digits momentarily.
The USA crushed Argentina 111-74 in an exhibition game in Las Vegas back in July, however, expect Wednesday’s game to be closer.
Translation: Coach K essentially just confirmed that this tournament has already been too tough to worry one whit about style points.
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Oh, and the French were playing without star point guard Tony Parker, who sat with a bruised foot.
