“This is where we wanted to be”, Warriors forward Kevin Durant said. The first 10 minutes saw eight different US players score and 14 points from non-starters.
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It also caps a brilliant tenure for coach Mike Krzyzewski, who signs off after guiding Team USA to three consecutive Olympic gold medals and an astounding 88-1 record in worldwide competition. 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.
The game also sends Carmelo Anthony out the right way. “Someone said to me [after the game], one of the officials said to me, ‘You know next time you play, you ought to play with four.’ And I said, ‘No, maybe the other teams better get their act together and compete'”. I committed to this in ’04. “We got a lot of work to do, but it’s one step at a time and I’m glad we represented in the fashion that we did”.
Before Popovich coaches James or any other National Basketball Association stars, the Americans will likely call upon the minor leaguers to get them there.
More significantly, Serbia had given the US its biggest scare in Rio, battling the Americans right down to the final buzzer in a Group A clash that offered up at least the possibility of an intriguing final.
Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, and Demarcus Cousins celebrate their new gold. He became more than just a player whose talents seem to perfectly suit the global game.
This was the final game for Mike Krzyzewski as head coach of USA Basketball, a position he has held since 2005. He took the reins in 2005 and helped to bring the United States back to the pinnacle of the global basketball world. Team USA claimed the gold medal with a 96-66 win over Serbia in the championship game. I went out there and did that.”Durant finished with 155 points, one point shy of his USA Basketball record for points scored in a single Olympics”.
Anthony, U.S. basketball’s only four-time Olympian, exits with three gold medals and a pack of U.S. team records.
In the second half, it was only a matter of settling the final margin and seeing some highlight-reel United States moves, notably an alley-oop slam dunk by DeMar DeRozan early in the fourth quarter. In their first Olympic appearance in men’s basketball as an independent nation, Serbia comes away with the silver.
Ewing, who famously won gold with the first Dream Team in 1992, said this year’s version of Team USA, wouldn’t have got anywhere near the first Dream Team, which featured superstars Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Scottie Pippen.
The Serbians were led by Nemanja Nedovic, who came off the bench for 14 points, two assists, two steals and one rebound.
GASOL’S GOODBYE?: Pau Gasol scored 31 points in what might have been his final Olympic game and Spain added a bronze to its collection on Sunday with an 89-88 win over Australia, again denied its first medal inside the rings.
Team USA’s men’s volleyball team beat Russian Federation 3-2 in the bronze medal match Sunday morning.
George said coach Mike Krzyzewski spoke to him before the game, reminding him of that day August 1, 2014, when the Pacer suffered a compound fracture of his leg during a USA Basketball scrimmage.
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The United States has won gold in the Olympics in 2008, 2012 and 2016. The coach will be different, the roster will be different, but the goal always remains the same.
