Anthony’s gold medal was his third, a record in men’s basketball.
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This team was tested a lot during their competition but got through it all.
US and Serbia got off to an evenly matched start, as the game was tied at 11 midway through the first quarter.
“Coach K, myself, (USA basketball director) Jerry Colangelo and everybody else who have been apart of this since I’ve been here: I just want to say thank you for allowing me to be one of the leaders, not just of our team but of the country”, Anthony said. For the first nine-plus minutes of the game, Serbia led.
Serbia’s Nikola Jokic admitted his team was nowhere near the US in the final. However, Team USA shot just 35 percent from the field in the opening quarter.
The second quarter was a thing of beauty in every aspect.
The ever-impressive Kevin Durant led the way with 30 points as Serbia’s solid start quickly petered out, with DeMarcus Cousins scoring 13 points and Klay Thompson netting 12. On the very next possession, Durant hit another three, which was his third of the game. Team USA at one point went on a 21 to 6 run.
Of course, the Team USA story isn’t complete if you don’t talk about Paul George. The Serbian women’s basketball team won bronze on Saturday.
“The USA are for sure the best team in the tournament”. Patty Mills scored 30 and David Anderson 15 for the Aussies, who played nearly the entire second half without former Warriors center Andrew Bogut.
Kevin Durant and Jimmy Butler celebrates the United States’ win over Serbia. They entered the locker room with a commanding 52-29 lead.
Hero: Durant and Cousins set the tone for the United States of America and their team-mates were only too happy to follow their lead.
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.
“I think I’ve given enough to Team USA basketball”, Anthony said in a press conference after the game. Before that, the Americans made history in the Games’ final combat events.
The US beat Serbia on the board by 54-33 and led by as many as 41 points.
With no LeBron James or Steph Curry, there’s been spells when the Americans winning streak that now spans 51 games has been under threat.
Durant, who is headed to the Golden State Warriors, scored 30 points on a series of highlight-reel plays Sunday to ignite the Serbia rout.
Serbia’s players have been urged to imagine the unthinkable and stun the NBA superstars of the U.S. on Sunday to snatch Olympic basketball gold. For the Serbs, it was quite an accomplishment to make it to the gold medal game.
Geno Auriemma turned to something very familiar to him to spark the Americans in the gold medal game on Saturday.
Irving is just the fourth USA player to win an Olympic gold medal and an National Basketball Association championship in the same year, alongside LeBron James (2012), Michael Jordan (1992) and Scottie Pippen (1992, 1996).
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The win was the last with Mike Krzyzewski as head coach.
