If the game got ugly, so did the Americans. They will play the Serbia/Australia victor in the bronze medal game Sunday, while Team USA gets the victor later in the day. He hit 8-of-16 shots from the field and 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.
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The Spaniards had seven players who call the National Basketball Association home – including San Antonio-bound Pau Gasol – and despite losing their first two group games, had been in red hot form in recent matches.
The United States men’s basketball team clinched its spot in the gold medal game for the third straight Olympics on Friday by defeating Spain 82-76.
DeAndre Jordan and Klay Thompson power Team USA past Spain in semifinals. “But then ultimately we just got stops and executed our offense”.
Heading into their semi-final the USA had outscored opponents in their first six games by an average of 41.7 points. Their opposition is going to have to play a almost ideal game if they want to beat them, but they are probably beatable.
Team USA, the only team to escape pool play with a flawless record despite issues defensively and poor shooting at times, is considered the heavy favorite to win gold for the third consecutive Games.
“We talked about this all summer”.
The game was not pretty, in part because of wildly inconsistent – and at times overbearing – FIBA officiating with bad calls hurting both teams at times.
The United States were averaging 105 points per game in the first six matches of the tournament, however that dropped considerably against Spain with their lowest score of the competition.
NBCSN will broadcast this matchup on Friday afternoon, but the game will be simulcast on the Olympics Basketball Channel.
The United States led from the opening tipoff but were never able to run away from a Spanish squad determined to end decades of frustration that has seen them lose all 12 meetings with the US team on Olympic or world championship hardwood dating back to 1936. Spain was able to hang around during a start-and-stop half, with a lot of fouls that killed the flow. On Friday, it was Thompson who led the way with 22 points for the USA.
It was a back-and-fourth third quarter, with the officials calling fewer fouls – although DeMarcus Cousins did foul out.
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This is the third consecutive time these two teams will face each other in the Olympics and it should be Team USA’s third win.
