In the penultimate match of the Olympic group stage, the top gold medal favorite, the United States, faced one of the outsiders of the entire tournament, Puerto Rico. Did the Americans destroy their rival or did the team led by José Alvarado give LeBron James and company a run for their money?
Fighting under the ring at the USA – Puerto Rico match
Photo: fiba.basketball
Jayson Tatum opened the scoring in the game. Then the Puerto Ricans scored five points in a row: a three-pointer by José Alvarado and a double by Davon Reed. In the first minutes of the game, Joel Embiid did not look at his best, as he did not have time to secure his teammates and, frankly, was reluctant to act on rebounds. In addition, the center was unable to throw the ball into the basket from rather advantageous positions. However, in the United States, Stephen Curry began to improve during the last game. The point guard made only one shot out of nine in the match against South Sudan. But in the first quarter, Steph scored five points and did not miss a single shot (two shots). The Puerto Ricans unexpectedly took the lead and led with a score of 22:17. This is largely due to the Americans’ problems when recruiting. In the end, Nelson Colon’s team maintained its lead in the first quarter with 29:25.
If Tatum and Curry stood out in the first quarter of the game, Anthony Edwards and his favorite player Kevin Durant shone in the second. However, this did not prevent Puerto Rico from repeatedly sneaking into the American “paint” and finding opportunities to win the ring there. Why don’t I talk about LeBron James? All this is due to the fact that the King faded into the background when the game was going on for other teammates and also focused on the play, making several smart passes. Even Embiid started to look better, apparently the break has a positive effect on him. JoJo was so tired of being booed by the fans in France that he made the sign “I can’t hear you” after his shot. The United States eventually beat their rival by 39:16 and the teams went to the break.
Antonio Edwards
Photo: fiba.basketball
The rest of the game relaxed the basketball players so much that both teams scored only four points in three minutes of the game. Alvarado and Jordan Howard kept Puerto Rico afloat, organizing a mini-sprint, to which Steve Kerr had to respond with a timeout. Durant, although he did not play much time, was extremely useful in both halves of the court. Every time KD appeared in the game, the Americans gave their all in attack and defense. It is also impossible not to mention Edwards, who practically did not miss. Ball movement and individual skill were on the side of the United States, so the United States beat its rival in the third ten minutes by 23:14.
Edwards wasn’t going to stop! Ant implemented a wide-range “windmill” and hit several “threes.” In turn, the Puerto Ricans shared well in the second and third quarters. Stefan Thompson hit several long shots and Ismael Romero turned the 2023 NBA MVP Embiid into fakes. Although the difference had long been over 25 points in favor of the United States, the Puerto Rican team fought until the end, taking the quarter with a score of 24:17. In the end, Joel took the ball in his hands, waiting for the end of the game, began to flirt with the fans, indicating with his hand “I can’t hear you.” Of course, the crowd began to boo the Cameroonian, the Frenchman and, most importantly, the American! But even here Embiid lost face: as soon as the attack time began to end, he shot the ball almost from the center of the court, his attempt was far from the target. So he received another portion of “boo” directed at him.
Joel Embiid provokes fans
Photo: frame from the broadcast.
The United States won 104:83. Edwards can easily be considered the best player, with 26 points, three rebounds and three assists. Embiid had his best game as a member of the US team. It is true that the center still seems like an alien element in the American game. Jo-Jo plays his favorite isolations, which hinder the team’s attack and ball movement, and largely thanks to passes and the search for quality missed games, the game of the “stars and stripes” is built. Embiid ended up scoring 15 points and three rebounds in 23 minutes on the court, but the center’s execution was poor: 6 out of 14 field goals.
Alvarado led Puerto Rico with 18 points and three assists. I would also like to mention Romero, who finished the game with a double-double: 12 points and 10 rebounds. The center periodically dealt with the American centers and was very useful on his own court. In addition, one cannot help but remember the King. LeBron enjoyed the process, joked in timeouts and scored 10 points, six rebounds and eight assists – in general, he did everything on the court as usual! The Americans won all three games in their group and finished in first place. The United States entered the playoffs with the best possible position.
We will soon find out who the USA will face in the Olympic quarter-finals. The next match will be between Serbia and South Sudan, who will not only compete for passage to the next round, but the fate of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece will depend on the result of their match. It will be very hot!
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