On the Men’s side of things, the star-studded squad that’s being led by such National Basketball Association luminaries as Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, and Kyrie Irving made it through the first two games with relative ease. They were narrowly edged out in their opener by Japan as they lost by only four points. His work in the fourth quarter – playmaking as well as scoring – was vital to the US keeping its 20-game win streak live.
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They were toe-to-toe in the third quarter, but it was the United States who held a three-point advantage at the final change which they held onto and then extended at the death.
However, Team USA got all they could handle and then some from an Australian team that was ready to take full advantage of the physical style that the FIBA rules allow for.
Patty Mills, the tournament scoring leader, had 30 points for Australia. They played tourist at the Christ the Redeemer statue, and went on a field trip to watch Michael Phelps win yet another gold medal.
But Anthony, the first US male to play in four Olympics, steadied the Americans in the first competitive game most of this new team had ever experienced.
U.S. Olympic scoring title in hand, Anthony was a force on offense all night long.
He’s averaging 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 assist so far in the competition, and recently became the All-Time leading scorer for Team USA following his performance against Australia. The squad is stacked with huge National Basketball Association players like Kevin Durant, DeAndre Jordan, Kyrie Irving and more, and the country has only missed out on the gold three times since the sport was introduced to the Olympics in 1936. Australia also held multiple seven-point leads in the first half. These two games could be tricky, but there’s also the possibility that the American squad has already seen off their toughest challenge in the Group Stage and should comfortably saunter into the knockout rounds with relative ease.
“It got real”, Paul George said. This is a team unlike many others the Americans will face in Rio, as the roster is stuffed with quality National Basketball Association players.
Meanwhile, the USA Women have been playing at a ridiculously high level since stepping onto the court in Rio. I think one of their best games of the tournament. “Melo won back-to-back gold medals at the Beijing and London Olympics after winning bronze in Athens”. The Mavs ranked third in the National Basketball Association last season in points per possession on BLOB plays at 0.994. As many of his Olympic teammates from the 2008 and 2012 teams opted to forgo the Rio Games, Anthony, the oldest member of the 2016 roster, chose to keep his streak alive and suit up for the United States for a fourth time this summer. Would that game have been as close with LeBron James and Russell Westbrook playing?
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Australia will conclude pool play on Sunday against Venezuela.
