Anthony and the USA men settled for a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics in a disappointing performance; he’s helped the Americans win three straight gold medals since.
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Durant had a game-high 30 points while DeMarcus Cousins had 13 points and 15 rebounds for the US.
“We played them already so we were familiar with the faces and familiar with their game”, USA guard Paul George said.
“To go home as gold medalists and leave Coach K off with another gold was one of our main goals as well”, Durant said.
Carmelo Anthony also picked up his third gold to go with a bronze, becoming the most decorated male in Olympic basketball history.
A far cry from the 91 points that Serbia scored against the U.S.in group play, in the gold medal final, the club could only muster 43 points after three quarters, leading to the inevitable 96×66 win. And LeBron James, who’ll be 35 years old in 2020, specifically left the door open to join Popovich’s team, saying “It would be pretty wonderful to be able to actually play for the greatest National Basketball Association coach of all time”.
Anthony checked back into the rout in the final minutes so he could grab a seventh rebound, passing David Robinson for the US record with the 125th as an Olympian.
After a few close calls earlier in the tournament, this was no contest.
A few of the victories were more hard than usual in this tournament, where half of the Americans’ eight games were decided by 10 points or fewer.
“Even the people who say they do not like you, they respect you”, Krzyzewski said of his message to Durant.
“This is where we wanted to be”, Warriors forward Kevin Durant said.
When the final horn sounded, the US players shared long hugs with each other and then Krzyzewski.
The nation desperately needed something to celebrate after demoralizing World Cup and Copa America failures and a host of economic, political and health woes that dominated the lead-up to South America’s first Olympics.
They did not blow teams out by 20 and 30 points regularly like the 1992 Dream Team did. They entered the locker room with a commanding 52-29 lead. “We just raised the level of intensity and it was a great game”, Clay Thompson said.
Taurasi and the Americans played almost flawless basketball in Rio, and were never challenged.
Barnes was a player Mike Krzyzewski never planned on giving too many minutes. Anthony, so often criticized for not winning National Basketball Association championships, became the model for USA players.
An emotional Carmelo Anthony announced his retirement from global play on Sunday after helping the United States men’s Olympic team win gold.
“When I’m smiling out there, screaming and beating my chest and showing emotion, that’s when I’m really just lost in the game”, Durant said. “We did a great job of being mindful of all that, bottling all of that up and really unleashing it against Serbia”. “This is the most determined, unselfish team I’ve ever been on, hands down”.
As the Americans linked arms to step onto the medal stand, they left no doubt about how much they cared.
There was still plenty on the line in the bronze medal game that took place on Sunday morning between Spain and Australia.
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Durant, who scored 18 of his 24 first-half points in the second quarter, joins the NBA Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors next season after their record-setting 73-win 2015-16 campaign.
