U.S. 91, Argentina 76
The U.S. defense in the first quarter Thursday night against Argentina was so impressive, it had me rewinding the DVR to watch parts of it a second time. Keep in mind it also was their sixth consecutive game, the equivalent of a back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back.
Against the only other undefeated team in the FIBA Americas tournament, the U.S. forced nine turnovers, by my count, in the first quarter. They might as well have turned out the lights at Thomas & Mack Center with the U.S. ahead 28-13 after the opening 10 minutes.
There was a pretty nice formula working in the U.S.'s 91-76 victory. A lot of Kobe Bryant - - who outscored Argentina solo in the first quarter - - and a lot of defense. Aside from Luis Scola, the rest of Argentina scored three points in the quarter.
The U.S. outscored Argentina by 15 points in that first quarter and won the game by that same margin. Argentina is the only team to beat the Americans twice (2002 world championships, 2004 Olympics) in recent competition.
Bryant staked the U.S. to an 8-4 lead, hitting a hanging jumpers and pulling up for two three-pointers. He kept attacking the basket and hit a third three-pointer on the way to a 15-point quarter. But the defense might have been the better story.
Yes, Argentina was playing without Manu Ginobili, Fabricio Oberto, Andres Nocioni and a host of others. But the U.S. forced turnovers on nearly half of Argentina's possessions in the first quarter. Uruguay kept it closer in the early going than FIBA's No. 2 ranked team.
How did the nine turnovers happen? Some were forced, some were unforced. There was Dwight Howard stripping Roman Gonzalez inside and Gonzalez trying to throw a pass over the top to Scola that Carmelo Anthony knocked away.
Bryant appeared to get a hand on the ball as Argentina had Carlos Sandes cutting backdoor. LeBron James knocked away another pass to Scola, who later picked up a costly offensive foul after getting tangled up with Chauncey Billups.
That was five turnovers right there. The most impressive defensive play might have been turned in by center Amare Stoudemire, who ventured out beyond the three-point arc to knock away a soft pass to Gonzalez
Argentina threw an outlet pass halfway to the MGM Grand and later coughed up the ball on a rare second-chance possession. Carlos Delfino was a non-factor with Bryant guarding him and got his signals crossed on a pass he threw out of bounds.
The Americans led by as many as 18 points in the first quarter, a lead Argentina had little chance of overcoming. Scola was the one bright spot, following up misses, freeing himself along the baseline, hitting hook shots and flashing a nice up-and-under move.
The U.S. moves on to play Puerto Rico, a team it beat by 39 points Tuesday, in the semifinals Saturday for an Olympic berth. Maybe a rematch with Argentina in the gold medal game Sunday will be a little more competitive.
The Olympics are a year away, but the U.S. has been impressive in this tournament, albeit against overmatched opponents. James, Bryant and Anthony have had their moments and the defensive effort has been commendable.
Anthony provided the exclamation point in the second quarter, with an absolutely savage dunk, followed by an alley-oop, followed by a three-pointer. Deron Williams got in for the last four minutes of the half and made a nice feed to Howard for a dunk.
Williams came back for the last 3:21 with the U.S. trying to run out the clock up by 23. He finished with one assist in seven minutes. Not sure how much Williams is going to play the next two games given the higher stakes.
Enough of me writing from the couch. I'm on a plane Friday morning to Vegas to cover the semifinals and finals and see with my own eyes what Team Unbeatable is all about. I'll also be checking in with Williams. Not a bad Labor Day weekend, I have to say.
--Ross Siler
Against the only other undefeated team in the FIBA Americas tournament, the U.S. forced nine turnovers, by my count, in the first quarter. They might as well have turned out the lights at Thomas & Mack Center with the U.S. ahead 28-13 after the opening 10 minutes.
There was a pretty nice formula working in the U.S.'s 91-76 victory. A lot of Kobe Bryant - - who outscored Argentina solo in the first quarter - - and a lot of defense. Aside from Luis Scola, the rest of Argentina scored three points in the quarter.
The U.S. outscored Argentina by 15 points in that first quarter and won the game by that same margin. Argentina is the only team to beat the Americans twice (2002 world championships, 2004 Olympics) in recent competition.
Bryant staked the U.S. to an 8-4 lead, hitting a hanging jumpers and pulling up for two three-pointers. He kept attacking the basket and hit a third three-pointer on the way to a 15-point quarter. But the defense might have been the better story.
Yes, Argentina was playing without Manu Ginobili, Fabricio Oberto, Andres Nocioni and a host of others. But the U.S. forced turnovers on nearly half of Argentina's possessions in the first quarter. Uruguay kept it closer in the early going than FIBA's No. 2 ranked team.
How did the nine turnovers happen? Some were forced, some were unforced. There was Dwight Howard stripping Roman Gonzalez inside and Gonzalez trying to throw a pass over the top to Scola that Carmelo Anthony knocked away.
Bryant appeared to get a hand on the ball as Argentina had Carlos Sandes cutting backdoor. LeBron James knocked away another pass to Scola, who later picked up a costly offensive foul after getting tangled up with Chauncey Billups.
That was five turnovers right there. The most impressive defensive play might have been turned in by center Amare Stoudemire, who ventured out beyond the three-point arc to knock away a soft pass to Gonzalez
Argentina threw an outlet pass halfway to the MGM Grand and later coughed up the ball on a rare second-chance possession. Carlos Delfino was a non-factor with Bryant guarding him and got his signals crossed on a pass he threw out of bounds.
The Americans led by as many as 18 points in the first quarter, a lead Argentina had little chance of overcoming. Scola was the one bright spot, following up misses, freeing himself along the baseline, hitting hook shots and flashing a nice up-and-under move.
The U.S. moves on to play Puerto Rico, a team it beat by 39 points Tuesday, in the semifinals Saturday for an Olympic berth. Maybe a rematch with Argentina in the gold medal game Sunday will be a little more competitive.
The Olympics are a year away, but the U.S. has been impressive in this tournament, albeit against overmatched opponents. James, Bryant and Anthony have had their moments and the defensive effort has been commendable.
Anthony provided the exclamation point in the second quarter, with an absolutely savage dunk, followed by an alley-oop, followed by a three-pointer. Deron Williams got in for the last four minutes of the half and made a nice feed to Howard for a dunk.
Williams came back for the last 3:21 with the U.S. trying to run out the clock up by 23. He finished with one assist in seven minutes. Not sure how much Williams is going to play the next two games given the higher stakes.
Enough of me writing from the couch. I'm on a plane Friday morning to Vegas to cover the semifinals and finals and see with my own eyes what Team Unbeatable is all about. I'll also be checking in with Williams. Not a bad Labor Day weekend, I have to say.
--Ross Siler
12:14 AM
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