ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP/Getty ImagesUSA’s guard Kevin Durant celebrates with USA’s flag after defeating Serbia during a Men’s Gold medal basketball match between Serbia and United States of America at the Carioca Arena 1 in Rio de Janeiro on August 21, 2016 during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
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United States’ Diana Taurasi, right, celebrates with head coach Geno Auriemma after the gold medal basketball game against Sp. The end result was their most lopsided victory in a gold medal game since the Dream Team beat Croatia by 32 points 24 years ago. They haven’t quite dominated as previous incarnations of the American team.
But solid defence of the Americans shattered the confidence of the Europeans, who were hammered on one-on-one situation.
Kevin Durant scored 18 of his game-high 30 points in the decisive second quarter, including 11 in two-and-a-half minute spell that featured a trio of three-pointers and a fast-break slam dunk.
Serbia, which missed the 2008 and 2012 Games, never found their rhythem of typical team work as the game was more like an National Basketball Association one.
Durant had 24 points by the half and the US had a 23-point lead, 52-29.
The United States has yet to lose in these Olympics, opening up pool play with a 5-0 record and a +117 point differential.
After a few close calls earlier in the tournament, this was no contest. “We sacrifice a lot of things to make sure than we bring this (gold medal) home”.
“It has been the ultimate honour of my life in coaching and I’ve coached for 41 years”, said Krzyzewski.
Anthony established the mark for most career rebounds by a USA player in the final game. “We are getting good results and I think this one is a pay-off for the hard work”. “At the start of this entire month, every single practice and game we approached it like it was a gold medal game”. In yet another rout, the USA dismantled Spain 101-72 on Saturday. Gregg Popovich, coach of the San Antonio Spurs, takes over for Tokyo in 2020.
The U.S. struggled earlier in the tournament but has been dominant in the medal round, beating Argentina, Spain and now Serbia en route to the Olympic title.
Krzyzewski, an assistant on the Dream Team, has long insisted that worldwide basketball has gotten too strong for anyone to win that easily again.
And playmaker Milos Teodosic reckons they can avenge their battering in the 2014 World Cup final after snuffing out Australia with a dynamic defensive effort in Friday’s semi.
In a rematch of their August 12 pool play game in which they won by just three points, Team USA wasted little time pulling away in this one.
The Serbians were led Nemanja Nedovic, who came off the bench for 14 points, two assists, two steals and one rebound.
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Serbia’s women won their first Olympic basketball medal in a hard-fought 70-63 victory over France, a conquest their coach Marina Maljkovic likened to climbing Mount Everest without oxygen.
