Durant had not been himself earlier in the tournament, and maybe it’s not a coincidence that the USA team had not played up to expectations – as unrealistic as that sometimes seem – while squirming through pool play undefeated.
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Then came a game where Australia banged the Americans around only to fall short in the final minutes.
Faced with containing Ricky Rubio’s ability to penetrate-and-kick after holding the Argentinians below 80 points in the quarterfinals, Team USA’s renewed defensive focus proved to be more than Fool’s Gold in the Americans’ continued pursuit of Olympic gold, as they earned a gritty, 82-76, win over Spain.
Now they need to do it again to take the next step toward their goal.
Of the four remaining teams – Spain, which the United States plays Friday, Australia and Serbia, who play each other – only the Americans average better than 40 rebounds per contest.
One more win and the Americans are again the best in the world. His presence down low was key as DeMarcus Cousins was plagued by foul trouble for most of the game and fouled out in the third quarter.
Jordan started and had 9 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks for USA.
With so much focus on the USA’s defensive issues, its offense has multiple scoring options, making it hard for opponents to get enough stops.
We now know who Mike Krzyzewski trusts.
This match was expected to be the gold medal match, but due to Spain’s poor showing in the group stages, per Reuters.
It was all supposed to change with the hiring of Jerry Colangelo as managing director in 2005, from a once-every-four-years, haphazardly constructed All-Star team to a more stable unit where everyone played together every summer, more or less. And when the Spanish opened this tournament with two straight losses, it was easy to think they wouldn’t get another shot at the Americans. As long as they defend as well as they have in the past two games, though, it shouldn’t matter.
It was a close game against a quality opponent, but Team USA got a hard-fought win that will allow them to play for gold on Sunday.
This might be the last time they will have Pau Gasol available and other powers are emerging.
Pau Gasol was fantastic for Spain in the losing effort with 23 points and eight rebounds, while Sergio Rodriguez chipped in 11 points and five assists. In fact, both teams were very stingy in giving up points, and it resulted in a very physical game by both clubs. Instead, Brazilian police say the USA athletes were intoxicated, vandalized a bathroom, then were questioned by armed guards before they paid for the damage and left. He was clearly out of gas by the end of the game, which is what you would expect of a 36-year-old carrying such a heavy load on offense and playing through a nagging calf injury. They’re so close to playing for the gold, and to lose now would be the biggest of disappointments.
Neither did the U.S.
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The referees weren’t taking any lip from either team early on, calling two technical fouls against each side, one of which was attributed to Durant, who picked up his third personal foul overall with three minutes left in the second quarter and was forced to sit out the rest of the half. He doesn’t get paid to dribble the ball, for good reason.
