Another player with a breakout game, DeMarcus Cousins, who’s 15 rebounds led the squad on the defensive end and helped the team to pull away further in the second half. This is it for me. But being a part of Team USA’s quest for a third consecutive gold medal allowed him to stay on the court and avoid being continually asked about his controversial decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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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.
Since Colangelo took over the program in 2005, the Americans have won seven straight FIBA titles in all.
There appeared to be plenty of booze, music and women at this Greek rager, not that I’d expect anything less from the best basketball players on the face of the planet.
It was a fitting send-off for outgoing coach Mike Krzyzewski and a remarkable show of strength by a team without a clutch of stars in Brazil, among them LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
On Sunday, August 21st, in the Olympics’ final sports competition, the USA, who have dominated the medal table since the Games began seventeen days ago, fittingly won the last gold medal of the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Nobody on Team USA would disagree.
Durant, who joins the NBA Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors next season, had 14 points in the pivotal spurt including a spectacular steal and fast-break slam dunk.
That raised doubts about the ability of the newly assembled team to play as a unit and handle the perpetual motion of worldwide play.
“I just told them, ‘Look at the highest flag, ‘” Anthony said, “and that’s what we did”. Serbia outscored the Americans in the second half 50-44.
They were down just 16-15 before Durant made a 3-pointer for the final points of the first quarter, and before then knew it he had turned the game into a blowout. By halftime, the US had extended their lead to 23 points. Nemanja Nedovic had 14 points to pace Serbia.
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Serbia’s silver medal is the second basketball medal for the country in Rio, with Serbian women’s team beating France in Saturday’s bronze medal game.
