The United States crushed Argentina, 105-78, to advance to the semifinals in the 2016 Olympic men's basketball tournament Wednesday night. It was easily the Americans' best performance yet in Rio, and there was no need for late heroics to end the Golden Generation's run.
After pulling out a few close wins in the group stage, the U.S. got its troubles out the way early in the quarterfinal. The Americans trailed by 10 points early with the starting lineup coming out slow, then turned on the burners with a 27-2 run that turned the game into a blowout.
It was the bench that got Team USA flowing, especially on defense. When Coach K rolled out Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler and Paul George -- arguably the team's top three perimeter defenders -- Argentina looked completely overwhelmed and committed several turnovers. While they had success earlier against the starting lineup with Kyrie Irving and Carmelo Anthony, the reserves turned the tides. For a team that talked up its defense entering this tournament, it was a reminder that it's ultimately where the Americans will bread their butter.
On offense, Kevin Durant put together his best game yet in Rio to carry the load. We saw him play well against an inferior opponent like China and have a strong first half against France, but this was the first time Team USA's best player looked the part from start to finish with a big-time scoring effort. He recorded a game-high 27 points on 13 shots in 28 minutes.
Argentina looked like an older team winding down, especially on defense. The team often struggled to close out on open jumpers and let the U.S. score 62 points in the second and third quarters combined. Once the Americans tightened up on defense and started making things harder on every possession, Argentina didn't have the energy to go toe-to-toe for 40 minutes.
Team USA will now play Spain in the semifinals on Friday in a rematch of the 2012 gold medal game. Spain crushed longtime rival France, 92-67, in the quarterfinals and has won four straight games since dropping its first two in Rio. On the other side of the bracket, Australia has earned a spot in the semis and will play the winner of Wednesday night's game between Serbia and Croatia.
2 things we learned
Kevin Durant, Paul George can be a 1-2 punch
One of them shouldered the offense, the other keyed the defense. While Carmelo Anthony is undeniably one of Team USA's greatest players ever, it's hard to argue that the Americans' best lineups don't involve Durant and George at the 3 and the 4 right now.
When George came into the game for Carmelo Anthony, it was a game-changer for the Americans on the defensive end. Anthony might be the greatest USA Basketball scorer in Olympic history, but he can't match George defensively and that's something the Americans needed. Argentina can't play the kind of defense the U.S. is capable of, so when George helped the team lock down on that end, the opponent didn't have much of a response.
And while George isn't quite the overwhelming one-on-one scorer Anthony is, Durant helped pick up the load with a stellar performance. The Warriors forward (that's still taking some getting used to) recorded 27 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and he shot an efficient 9-of-13 from the field. Durant was 7-of-9 from three in the game, which was timely considering his teammates were 4-of-24 from beyond the arc. George wasn't bad, either, with 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting and eight rebounds in his best Olympic performance yet.
The Golden Generation is likely no more
It was mentioned a lot during the second half of the broadcast: Argentina's legendary Golden Generation probably just played its last game together. Manu Ginobili (age 39), Luis Scola (36) Andres Nocioni (36) and Carlos Delfino (34 in two weeks) helped transform Argentina into an international force over the past dozen years, but with the next FIBA World Cup in 2019 and the next Olympics in 2020, this was the last hurrah.
Toward the end of the game, even with their team about to get eliminated, the country's fans loudly cheered the greatest players they've ever had. It was a touching moment for South America's most successful group of players ever.
While Argentina couldn't keep up with a younger, more talented American team, it scored a double-OT win over Brazil in the group stage that goes down as one of the best basketball games I've ever seen. They came to these Olympics trying to do something special by winning their third Olympic medal (after gold in 2004 and bronze in 2008), and while they fell short, we'll remember the Golden Generation fondly.
