U.S. survived their first serious test of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, overcoming Australia 98-88 in a tense and enthralling basketball game at Carioca Arena 1 on Wednesday.
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It was the second straight time in the Olympic Games that the USA has stumbled out of the gate, but just like the eventual blowout of Venezuela, the team figured it out against a less talented opponent in the end.
A closer look at the Jordan Melo M12 basketball star Carmelo Anthony wore against Australia in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Team USA is by no means invulnerable, as Australia showed when they nearly defeated Team USA before the latter escaped with a victory. The Americans had no problems dominating their pre-Olympics exhibition schedule, then opened in Rio with lopsided victories over China and Venezuela.
Venezuela power forward Nestor Colmenares made the two plays of the game down the stretch.
Carmelo Anthony was big at the start and the finish.
Kyrie Irving, who Australians like to claim as their own as he was born in Melbourne, was the second-best player for the US with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including a dagger from three down the stretch, similar to Game 7 against the Golden State Warriors.
According to John Schuhmann of NBA.com, three-time All-NBA honoree Paul George believes Team USA would’ve lost to Australia if not for Anthony.
Only two other Americans, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, scored in double digits, and they combined for just 33 points on 31 shots. By halftime, as the Americans trailed for the first time since 2004 (54-49), it was clear the Australian threat was real.
Up until Wednesday night, life in Rio was pretty good for players on the US men’s basketball team.
Carmelo Anthony is really cementing his spot as the best player to ever represent the United States of America.
While the US had easily routed Senegal and Spain in its first two games, winning by an average of 52.5 points, it had a harder time against the hot-shooting Balkan nation.
Finishing the opening ten minutes with 14 points, he took his total tally to 276 points before ending the game on 293 as he led all scorers with 31 points in Rio.
Colmenares led the team with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists. The American Basketball team in the 2016 Olympics game has proven to be Champions. They’re used to crushing opponents and just had a tough time against a team led by National Basketball Association reserves. They go to their country and they become stars.
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Melo and Team USA will face Serbia next, taking on the team at 6 p.m. ET on Friday.
