Carmelo Anthony is already one of the most successful Olympic basketball players in United States history and is in search of his record third gold medal this year in Rio de Janeiro, something that he says would be satisfying if he never gets the chance to win an NBA title.
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They stayed on a luxury ship, and cruised past a couple of badly outmatched opponents.
If the Boomers continue their impressive performances, they should soon find themselves with their first Olympic medal, which would be a tremendous accomplishment for Australian basketball. The Australian team had a field goal percentage of 50 percent.
Anthony moved past LeBron James as the US career leader in Olympic scoring and did it quickly, using a hot start to make up the 11-point advantage James had entering the game.
Other than Anthony and Irving, the Americans leaned heavily on defence and three-pointers to get the win.
An enraged Krzyzewski screamed at an official after Andrew Bogut’s hard foul on Irving just in front of the USA bench in the third quarter, his face looking as red as the shirts the coaching staff wore.
“It was an adjustment for us”, said Paul George, inserted in the starting lineup for the struggling Klay Thompson. “It definitely got real”. Nurse came into the game leading the team in scoring, but had a rough contest against the USA and her college coach Auriemma.
Yeah, I know. Some Bulls fans probably still feel angry about Anthony shunning the Bulls a couple summers ago and signing a big deal to stay with the Knicks, but the man has been nails for the United States in global play.
Coach Andrej Lemains had his team focused on taking the USA out of transition and forcing them into a halfcourt game, where big men Anew Bogut and Aron Baynes could muck up the middle and force the Americans to make shots from the perimeter. They won the battle on the glass and they clearly won the matchup at the four. They have played lights-out basketball.
But no other US players had much going, with Durant going 2 for 10 in the first half and Irving 2 for 7.
The game also marks a rematch of the 2014 FIBA World Cup final, which the US won 129-92 behind current starting point guard Kyrie Irving’s 23 points and team World Cup-record 6-for-6 shooting from three-point range. “We’re not afraid of anyone”.
“We lost. We’re not going to take small moral victories”.
Carmelo Anthony and Kyrie Irving ensured that the upset wouldn’t come to fruition, but it was still the most vulnerable we’ve seen Team USA in Rio.
The U.S. was out of sync, throwing the ball away on fast breaks and missing open shots.
They played their first game against China on Saturday 6th August 2016 and emerged victorious with the total of 119 – 62 points.
Playing in his fourth Olympic games, Carmelo Anthony will cement his status as one of the greatest worldwide players of all time by likely winning a third gold medal.
A 10-2 U.S. run, including eight points from Anthony, made it 80-74 and the persistent Aussies never got closer than four after that.
“We’re disappointed”, Bogut told reporters after the game. Anthony scored a game-high 31 points, shooting 9-for-13 from 3-point range.
But Anthony, the most experienced USA player and the first male to play in four Olympics, steadied the Americans.
“I had them, she’ll have them”, Moore said. “One is the streak is over”.
With the game tied at 72 in the fourth quarter, the Americans went on to outscore Australia 26-16. “That was good for us”.
They used a 15-3 burst to make it 46-39, and Coach Mike Krzyzewski actually needed a timeout to calm his team.
Said Krzyzewski, “They’re going to vie for the gold medal”.
“He’s our rock. He’s going to hold us down, and I expect him to do that”.
It was good for Australia, too, though the Boomers had to wonder if anyone can beat the US after just falling short in their best effort.
However Boomers assistant coach Luc Longley wasn’t having any of it, saying: ‘Tell ’em that’s global basketball’.
“Not tonight”, he said.
When most of us watch, we’re rooting for Team USA (right)?
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Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press.
