Anthony is the first American men’s basketball player to win three gold medals, the third coming after Team USA’s 96-66 win over Serbia on Sunday.
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The game was the last competition in Rio, ending just hours before Sunday night’s closing ceremony.
The performance of the USA men’s basketball team during the Rio Olympics was called into question several times, but the squad delivered a dominant performance when it mattered the most.
“I know this is the end”. He outscored Serbia by himself in the quarter, 18-14.
Part of the former Yugoslavia, which also consisted of Serbia and Montenegro, Serbia beat the United States in the quarter-finals of the 2002 world championships on the way to the gold, and were beaten for a silver by the Americans at the 1996 Atlanta Games. Anthony said. “I’ve seen both sides of it”.
With the win, Taurasi, Sue Bird and Tamika Catchings all captured their fourth gold medals, tying the record for most Olympic golds in women’s basketball history.
Kevin Durant scored 30 points in Mike Krzyzewski’s final game as coach of the national team.
“We got challenged and we showed the world we can redeem ourselves and show everyone why we’re the best athletes in the world”, forward DeMar DeRozan said.
Through the first quarter of Team USA’s gold medal match against Serbia, it was reasonable to think this would be another close game that would come down to the wire.
They did exactly what they were supposed to do: They won a gold medal.
Two 3-pointers before a steal and dunk pushed the USA lead into double digits, and when he capped what may been the Americans’ best possessions in Rio, when they whipped the ball from side to side around the perimeter until it ended up in the hands of Durant, and then in the net.
Earlier in the day, Spain won the bronze medal with an 89-88 win over Australia.
“It was the best thing that happened for us”, centre DeMarcus Cousins said of those wake-up calls.
It was a tough ending for a impressive run for Serbia in its first Olympics as an independent nation.
Kevin Durant said his experience in Rio de Janeiro with Team USA provided a needed escape from the backlash he has received after leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder to sign with the Golden State Warriors.
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This was the last gold medal of the 2016 Rio on Sunday and the 25th Olympic victory of the USA, which also had ideal 8-0 records in 2008 Beijing and 2012 London, Xinhua news agency reported.
