But the Americans, who have medaled in all 18 of their previous Olympic appearances, responded well to the adverse circumstances, running off a 7-0 run to tie the score at halftime and opening the third quarter with a 22-6 blitz.
When the dust settled, Team USA claimed a 95-81 win over Spain at Saitama Super Arena on Tuesday, thereby ending its chief international rival’s gold medal hopes for the fifth straight Olympics. In addition to wins in the gold medal games at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, Team USA defeated Spain in the 2016 semifinals and 2004 quarterfinals.
Kevin Durant rose to the moment for the Americans, finishing with a team-high 29 points to go with two rebounds and four assists. With Spain threatening to pull away in the second quarter, Durant kept the Americans afloat. Coming out of halftime, he then hit three three-pointers to help USA build a 16-point lead.
In the fourth quarter’s closing minutes, Durant buried a turnaround jumper, found Jrue Holiday for a drive-and-kick dagger three-pointer and then delivered the exclamation point with a leak-out dunk in the closing seconds.
USA survived a valiant individual performance from Ricky Rubio, a Spanish mainstay who was recently traded by the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Typically a pass-first point guard, Rubio scored a game-high 38 points by attacking aggressively off the dribble all night. But Spain couldn’t generate enough other sources of offense once USA got its shooting on track in the second half.
While Durant led the way throughout the comeback, five Americans finished in double figures. Jayson Tatum scored 13 points and Damian Lillard added 12 in the win. After shooting 4 for 17 on three-pointers in the first half, USA shot 9 for 15 from deep in the second half to seal the win.
USA will face the winner of Australia and Argentina in the semifinals on Thursday.
Follow along for more updates from the game.
USA opens up 69-63 lead over Spain after three quarters with three-point barrage
The U.S. men’s basketball team entered halftime with momentum and didn’t skip a beat in the third quarter of its quarterfinal matchup with Spain on Tuesday.
After closing the second quarter on a 7-0 run, USA raced to a 22-6 start to the third quarter. Kevin Durant had his fingerprints all over the second-half push, as he hit three three-pointers, a mid-range jumper and set up a Bam Adebayo jumper with a pretty bounce pass.
The American offense, which had been bottled up for most of the first half, came alive in the third quarter. Devin Booker shook off a slow start with a three-pointer, a layup in transition and another slashing drive, helping USA build a 16-point lead in a game it trailed by 11 early in the second quarter.
After shooting 4 for 17 from deep in the first half, USA went 5 for 9 on three-pointers in the third quarter. Durant led the Americans with 25 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the field.
Yet a valiant effort from Ricky Rubio kept Spain from folding under USA’s perimeter onslaught. Rubio, who was recently traded by the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Cleveland Cavaliers, scored 14 points in the period for a game-high 27 through three quarters. Sergio Rodriguez hit a three-pointer to help Spain close the quarter on a 7-0 run and cut USA’s lead to six.
USA rides 7-0 closing run to tie Spain 43-43 at halftime
The U.S. men’s basketball team has its hands full as it seeks to claim its 19th medal in its 19th Olympic appearance.
Spain opened up an 11-point second-quarter lead over USA thanks to strong guard play and perimeter defense in their quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday. With USA in danger of suffering its earliest loss in an Olympics, Kevin Durant responded by leading a comeback in the closing minutes of the second quarter to send the contest into halftime tied at 43.
After high-scoring wins over Iran and Czech Republic, Team USA’s offense has wavered against Spain due to poor outside shooting. The Americans shot just 4 for 17 on three-pointers by halftime, and they struggled at times to penetrate Spain’s interior defense.
USA’s late run saw Durant hit a tough contested three-pointer and drive for a dunk. Zach LaVine cut baseline for another dunk to finish off the 7-0 closing push. Durant has a team-high 12 points at halftime.
Spain’s Ricky Rubio was held scoreless in the second quarter but remains the game’s leading scorer with 13 points. Sergio Rodriguez added 10 for Spain. Rudy Fernandez’s foul trouble deepened as he picked up his third shortly before halftime.
Spain takes 21-19 lead over USA in grinding first quarter
The opening minutes of the U.S. men’s basketball showdown with Spain were marked by intense defense, with both teams forced to work hard for all of their scoring opportunities. Thanks to a game-high 13 points from Ricky Rubio, Spain took a 21-19 lead after the first quarter.
In response to Spain’s pressure defense on the perimeter, USA opened by searching for back-cuts and Jrue Holiday found a pair of layups by moving off the ball. The highlight of the opening period came when Kevin Durant split two defenders at the top of the key and took two long strides into the paint for a high-flying dunk. Durant tallied a team-high seven points in the opening period.
While Spain started a bit tentatively on offense, Rubio was an obvious exception. He attacked the basket for an early layup against Holiday and hit Spain’s only three-pointer of the period.
Both teams struggled to shoot from outside early: USA shot 1 for 7 on three-pointers, matching Spain exactly.
Rudy Fernandez, one of several former NBA players on Spain’s roster, was forced to the bench with two fouls at the 4:50 mark.
Hundreds of observers from various Olympic delegations — from Uruguay to Kosovo — showed up to watch the highly anticipated quarterfinal matchup in person.
USA keeps same starters for quarterfinal showdown with Spain
With a two-game winning streak under its belt, USA men’s basketball kept the same starting lineup for its highly anticipated quarterfinal matchup against Spain on Tuesday.
USA Coach Gregg Popovich will start Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bam Adebayo against Spain.
Spain will start Ricky Rubio, Rudy Fernandez, Victor Claver, Alberto Abalde and Marc Gasol.
The quarterfinal matchup pits USA, ranked No. 1 by FIBA, and Spain, which is No. 2. USA has won gold at the past three Olympics, while Spain won gold at the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
Meet the U.S. men’s basketball opponent: Spain
The biggest international rivalry in men’s basketball will resume Tuesday when Team USA and Spain meet in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
USA is 16-2 all-time in major international tournaments against Spain, including wins in the 1984 Olympic gold medal game, 2008 Olympic gold medal game, 2012 Olympic gold medal game and the 2016 Olympic semifinals. Remarkably, USA has eliminated Spain from the past four Olympics, including a quarterfinal victory in 2004.
When it comes to more recent history, USA beat Spain, 83-76, during a July 18 pre-Olympics exhibition held in Las Vegas. The Americans went 2-1 in Group A play, losing to France before scoring blowout wins over Iran and Czech Republic. Spain went 2-1 in Group C, beating Japan and Argentina before losing to Luka Doncic and Slovenia on Sunday.
Spain’s roster is full of players with NBA experience, including Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol and Ricky Rubio. Other current and former NBA players include Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Rodriguez, Willy Hernangomez, Victor Claver and Alex Abrines.
USA and Spain are currently ranked first and second, respectively, in FIBA’s world basketball rankings. While Spain won the 2019 FIBA World Cup and boasts a core group with extensive shared experience, many of its key players are nearing the end of their international careers. Pau Gasol is 41 and hasn’t played in the NBA since 2019, Marc Gasol is 36 and was mostly limited to a bench role by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2021 playoffs, Fernandez is 36 and Rodriguez is 35.
USA has tended to hold clear advantages over Spain in athleticism and speed during their past match-ups, and those should be enhanced given the Americans’ relative youth. Seldom-used center JaVale McGee is the oldest player on USA’s roster at 33, and Kevin Durant is the oldest rotation play at 32.
If Spain were to pull the upset, it would represent the earliest exit ever for USA in the Olympics. USA has won gold at the last three Olympics and medaled in all 18 of its previous Olympic appearances, dating back to 1936.
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