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USA Earns Top Seed, Stays Unbeaten After Narrow Victory Vs. France

Team USA advanced out of the preliminary round as the top seed from Group A, staying undefeated following another tight victory Sunday.

The quarterfinals are now on the horizon Aug. 17 for the U.S. men’s basketball team (5-0), which wrapped up its preliminary play with a second straight three-point victory, this time surviving against France (3-2) in a 100-97 win.

“Everyone we see now is going to be explosive,” said Klay Thompson, who scored a team-high 30 points in the win. “We’re happy to be 5-0, and we control our own destiny. We just have to trust ourselves on both sides of the ball, and if we do that and play hard, I don’t think we’ll lose.”

Clippers center DeAndre Jordan posted seven points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal in 18 minutes, leading all U.S. bench players in playing time.

France held an early lead in the first quarter before Team USA started to pull away. The U.S. lead remained around double digits most of the second quarter, and by halftime the U.S. was still ahead, 55-46.

Out of the break, a comfortable advantage got up to as many as 16 before getting too close for comfort late in the fourth quarter for a second straight game. As the explosive offense started to go cold, early turnovers began to put France back in contention. Fewer than three minutes into the fourth quarter, France’s 10-2 run made it a four-point game.

The U.S. got the lead back up to double digits with 1:25 left, but missed shots gave France a chance before the U.S. put it away for good, led by Thompson, who tied for fourth in scoring all-time by a U.S. player in an Olympic game. Team USA also got 17 points from Kevin Durant, who went 6-for-6 from the floor.

Both teams’ offenses propelled them most of the day, as France shot 56.2 percent despite going just 5-for-19 from 3-point range, while Team USA shot 55.6 percent from the floor. The U.S. men’s team also made 10 3-pointers, seven of which came from Thompson.

Other standouts included USA’s Kyrie Irving, whose 12 assists tied a team record in a game, and France’s Nando de Colo and Thomas Heurtel, who scored 18 points apiece.

Team USA’s opponent for quarterfinal play Aug. 17 is still to be determined, with the final preliminary games occurring Monday.

“We’ve just got to worry about us and focus on playing USA basketball, playing the right way,” Jordan said. “No matter the opponent, we just got to stick to how we’re playing.”