United States’ Kevin Durant (5) signals to teammates after he scored against Argentina during a men’s quarterfinal round basketball game at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)Judging by Wednesday evening’s 105-78 quarterfinal victory over Argentina, tales of the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team’s imminent exit from the Rio Games may have been greatly exaggerated.
Yes, the guys in red, white and blue fell behind by 10 points early. No, this isn’t quite the same Argentina team that knocked the United States out of the semifinals at the 2004 Games on its way to a gold medal in Athens.
Manu Ginobili was still one of the best players on the globe back then, soon to be one of the most respected performers in the NBA during his long (and still current) run with the San Antonio Spurs. That Argentina team was both long and strong inside rather than the slender, shorter, finesse-framed group that was dominated on the boards by the Americans on Wednesday, losing the rebound battle 54-43 after being overwhelmed 45-29 early in the fourth quarter.
But this year’s players were still quarterfinalists against a U.S. squad whose past two games were three-point wins against France and Serbia.
“We brought the energy and the passion tonight,” said Kevin Durant, who led all U.S. scorers with 27 points, including making 7 of 9 attempts beyond the 3-point line.