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USA Advances To Semifinals With Strong Finish Vs. Argentina

Chris Paul said earlier this week at one of his foundation’s events basketball used to be America’s game but has now become the world’s game, which is evident in the number of international players in the NBA.

That’s also led to more formidable Olympic competitors, as Team USA found out late in the preliminary round against Serbia and France and again early in Wednesday’s quarterfinals game against Argentina, only this time the U.S. men’s basketball team left no doubt about the outcome as it moved on to the semifinals with a 105-78 victory.

Argentina (3-3) started ahead, 19-9, as defensive gambles by the U.S. (6-0) led to easy looks the other way, while deep shots from the U.S. failed to find their target. But the U.S. closed the first quarter on a 16-2 run with plenty of help from Kevin Durant’s 13 first-quarter points, then extended that run to 27-2 early in the second quarter, quickly taking grasp of the game and never letting up. 

Clippers center DeAndre Jordan had been coming off the bench, but he earned the start in the quarterfinals matchup and posted two points on a thunderous dunk off a lob from Kyrie Irving to go with four rebounds in 14 minutes.

DeMarcus Cousins came off the bench and took advantage of the matchup with the reserves, also playing 14 minutes and scoring 15 points, trailing only Paul George’s 17 points and Durant’s 27 to lead Team USA. Durant also added seven rebounds and six assists, going 9-for-13 from the floor.

After outscoring Argentina by 16 points in the first half, the U.S. men’s basketball team stayed on the throttle, outscoring Argentina by 10 points in the third quarter and cruising in the fourth.

Perhaps most importantly, the U.S. defense started to show up more and more, forcing Argentina to shoot 38 percent and commit 16 turnovers. Team USA will need that defense to show up as it prepares for a semifinals matchup against Spain (4-2) on Aug. 19, following Spain’s dominant 92-67 win against France (3-3) to advance.

Both the gold and bronze medal games will take place Aug. 21.