Team USA lost their 16 point lead and almost giving the game away to Tony Parker – less France, 100 – 97.
Midway throught the 3rd Quarter, they are confortably ahead and we thought the game was over already. But France made a huge run that USA can’t even handle.
Thanks to Klay Thompson who had 30 points with 7 three pointers, they escape with win.
This is the 3rd consecutive time that Team USA was pushed to the brink, it started with Australia, followed by Serbia.
USA will face the 4th ranked team on the other bracket.
The USA Men’s Basketball National Team still has one tuneup game remaining before heading to Brazil. It is going to be on Monday, Aug. 1: USA vs. Nigeria at Toyota Center in Houston, 8 pm ET (NBA TV). Their pre-Olympics tuneup record is now 4-0.
Team USA struggled to hit from the outside to fall in a 80-45 tuneup victory over Venezuela at the United Center in Chicago Friday, July 29.
The team won 107-57 over China in their second straight game Tuesday evening at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, July 26. The score was almost the same to 106-57 result of their first game at Staples July 24 in Los Angeles.
USA Basketball showcase their first tuneup game at T-Mobile Arena Friday, July 22, 2016, in Las Vegas. The United States won 111-74 over Argentina.
“I’m in the moment of these guys. I’m not sentimental at all,” Krzyzewski said. “If you startthinking of you, you can not ask a player not to think of himself. This is not about anything one ofUS is doing. It’s about this moment with this group. ‘
This is not the same bunch he had in 2012, when Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Chris Paul and RussellWestbrook helped the US romp to a 8-0 record and an average score of 115.5 points a game. Thewithdrawals of James, Paul, Golden State’s Stephen Curry and others will make this team’s styledifferent. But though the rest of the world has made huge strides, Team USA is still a heavyfavorite for a third straight gold medal.
“I think the strength of this team is defensively we definitely get after it,” Anthony said. “You have guys that’s kind of who their primary focus. You have guys who can score the basketball.You have guys who can shoot the basketball. You have bigs who are very dominant. I do not there’s much reallythink weaknesses with this team. “(Interview source: Helene Elliott of The LA Times )
Olympics Preliminary Rounds
Group A
Saturday, Aug. 6: USA vs. China and Carioca in Rio Arena 1, 6 pm ET
Monday, Aug. 8: USA vs. Venezuela and Carioca in Rio Arena 1, 6 pm ET
Wednesday, Aug. 10: USA vs. Australia and Carioca in Rio Arena 1, 6 pm ET
Friday, Aug. 12: USA vs. Serbia and Carioca in Rio Arena 1, 6 pm ET
Sunday, Aug. 14: USA vs. France and Carioca Arena in RIOY 1, 1:15 pm ET
These young men (USA Basketball Men’s Select Team) were chosen to play against the main team (USA Basketball Men’s National Team). They have been in the training camp since July 18 at the Mendenhall Center on the UNLV campus to practice and go through a scrimmage with the Team USA. The select team is being coached by the San Antonio Spurs’ Gregg Popovich. These young players will not go to the Olympics now but will be in the future.
The 25 young players and their school / team who made it to the 2016 USA Basketball Men’s Select Team:
Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns) Malcolm Brogdon (University of Virginia) Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Detroit Pistons) Willie Cauley-Stein (Sacramento Kings) Kris Dunn (Providence College) Aaron Gordon (Orlando Magic) Jerami Grant (Philadelphia 76ers) Gary Harris (Denver Nuggets) Rodney Hood (Utah Jazz) Brandon Ingram (Los Angeles Lakers) Brice Johnson (University of North Carolina) Stanley Johnson (Detroit Pistons) Zach LaVine (Minnesota Timberwolves) CJ McCollum (Portland Trail Blazers) Doug McDermott (Chicago Bulls) Emmanuel Mudiay (Denver Nuggets) Jahlil Okafor (Philadelphia 76ers) Victor Oladipo (Oklahoma Thunder) Jabari Parker (Milwaukee Bucks) Julius Randle (Los Angeles Lakers) D’Angelo Russell (Los Angeles Lakers) Myles Turner (Indiana Pacers) Denzel Valentine (Michigan State University) Justise Winslow (Miami Heat) Cody Zeller (Charlotte Hornets)
Here are the list of the NBA Players who withdraws from USA Basketball Team for upcoming 2016 Rio Olympics:
Point Guard: Stephen Curry – Need to rest due to Ankle and Knee Injury Chris Paul – Need to rest for next NBA Season due to his broken hands last 2016 playoff John Wall – Underwent procedures on both knees Russell Westbrook – First player to pull out without giving a reason Shooting Guard: James Harden – Did not specify a reason for withdrawing Power Forward: Anthony Davis – Knee and Shoulder Injury Blake Griffin – Quad Injury Lamarcus Aldridge – Finger and Hand Injury
Temple (7-1, 4-0) is off to its best start in school history and battle American Athletic Conference opponent SMU (1-7, 0-4) at SMU Friday night at 8 p.m. (E.S.T.) in a college football clash. The game is being televised live on ESPN2.
The visiting Owls are coming off a 24-20 loss to then No. 9 in the Associated Press poll Notre Dame in their last game at home.
“I think (the Notre Dame game) just shows how good they’ve gotten and they have to find it out now,” Temple head coach Matt Ruhle told the Associated Press this week. In other words, the Owls shouldn’t be satisfied with their season yet, despite their lofty record through the team’s first eight games.
SMU has won just one game the last two seasons and the Owls are favored by 13 points Friday night by the Associated Press.
Check out the Nations that were qualified for the 2016 Olympic men’s basketball tournament, this is a tough crowd to be with. We are still waiting for 3 more entry that will come from the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament winners.
1. Brazil (host nation) 2. United States (winner – 2014 FIBA World Cup) 3. Australia (winner – 2015 FIBA Oceania Championship) 4. Nigeria (winner – AfroBasket 2015) 5. Venezuela (winner – 2015 FIBA Americas Championship) 6. Argentina (second-placer – 2015 FIBA Americas Championship) 7. Spain (winner – EuroBasket 2015) 8. Lithuania (second-placer – Eurobasket 2015) 9. China (winner – 2015 FIBA Asia Championship) 10. 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament winner #1 11. 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament winner #2 12. 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament winner #3
Steph Curry was conquering uncharted territory during the Team USA practice. On the video he is shown dunking the ball and was quite impressive. But when Kenneth Farried decided to show up and dunk between the legs, Steph Curry thought about doing the dunk until he finally decided to stick with his best weapon.
Paul George injury in Team USA Scrimmage in Las Vegas
It was supposed to be a night of fun and highlights for team USA as they show the fans their first scrimmage game in Las Vegas. The game turned in to a nightmare in the fourth quarter when Paul George suffered a horrific injury that could definitely remove him from Team USA roster and potentially end his season, if not his career in the NBA.
A snap shot of Paul George Leg injury , Injury like Kevin Ware
#PrayforPaulGeorge
Paul George is in a state of shock
Team USA pray for Paul George
Video of Paul George injury in Team USA Scrimmage in Las Vegas
Team USA was all hard work and dedication on the court, although people expected them to win because of their exemplary skill and athleticism, the team is still in a lot of scrutiny and pressure maintaining that status of the top basketball team in the world, especially when the 2012 team is being compared to the 1992 Dream Team. Lets take a moment and look at some of the lighter side moments of Team USA’s journey to olympic gold. It was moments like these that brought them closer together. Enjoy this rare behind the scenes footage of Team USA!!
ISTANBUL (AP) — The shot bounced off the back rim, then the front, then finally fell out. With that, the United States walked off the court with a victory, and another warning: A world championship won’t come easily for this young team — if it comes at all.
The Americans survived their first tough test in Turkey, edging Brazil 70-68 on Monday when Leandro Barbosa’s shot rattled out at the buzzer.
“This game right here was an eye opener,” U.S. guard Derrick Rose said.
Kevin Durant scored 27 points and Chauncey Billups added 15 for the Americans (3-0), who essentially clinched Group B with the victory. But they have bigger goals than a group championship, trying to end a 16-year U.S. drought in this event.
This U.S. team has to do without Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and all the other players who led the Americans to the gold medal in the 2008 Olympics, and those guys never needed breaks at the buzzer.
“We know that teams are really coming in here to try to win this tournament and we’re here to do the same,” said Rose, the only other U.S. player in double figures with 11 points.
After the Americans trailed most of the first 2 1/2 quarters, Lamar Odom’s dunk with 7:14 left put them ahead 64-62. But they couldn’t build on the lead during a tense final few minutes, and Brazil had two chances to send the game to overtime.
Following a miss by Billups, Brazil got the ball and Marcelo Huertas was fouled on a drive to the basket with 3.5 seconds remaining. He missed the first free throw and then the second intentionally, tracking it down in the corner and firing it underneath to Barbosa, who lofted a shot over Kevin Love, only to have it bounce off the back and front of the rim.
“I thought it was going to in, but it’s OK,” Barbosa said. “I think we did a great job, it was a great game. I don’t think the USA knew that we could cause problems for them and we did it.”
Barbosa finished with 14 points after a strong start for Brazil (2-1). Marcus Vinicius scored 16, and Tiago Splitter had 13 points and 10 rebounds while battling foul trouble in the second half.
With NBA big men Nene, Anderson Varejao and Splitter, Brazil was considered one of the teams with enough size to topple the undersized Americans. Nene had to pull out with an injury and Varejao sat out again while continuing to rest a sprained right ankle, so the Brazilians turned to a speed game to lead for much of the game.
They just couldn’t finish the upset, leaving the Americans needing only a victory over Iran or Tunisia, the bottom two teams in Group B, or another Brazil loss to earn the top seed from the group and three full days off before meeting the No. 4 seed from Group A on Sept. 6.
The Americans have plenty to work on before worrying about that, after needing a huge night from Durant and 31 minutes from Billups, the old man of the team at 33 who had their only basket in the final 6:50.
“I knew that in the first half that this was going to be a fourth-quarter game, a last two- or three-minute game, and I was preparing myself to just be ready,” Billups said.
Nowhere was the difference between this team and its predecessor more apparent than in the matchup with Barbosa. When the teams last met, in their 2007 Olympic qualifier, Barbosa entered as the tournament’s leading scorer before Bryant led a defensive effort that held him to four points on 1-of-7 shooting in an easy U.S. win.
There’s no defenders like Bryant here, and Barbosa took advantage in the first quarter by making two 3-pointers and scoring eight points. Brazil made 12 of its first 16 shots in the period and its first four 3-pointers, streaks that were snapped when Barbosa was just short on a half-court heave at the buzzer, leaving them with a 28-22 lead.
Brazil extended its lead to eight early in the second quarter and was still up seven midway through the period, but with Splitter on the bench with two fouls, and Barbosa and Alex Garcia joining him, the Americans cut it to one a couple of times.
Splitter’s dunk sent the Brazilians to the half with a 46-43 advantage.
The Americans finally grabbed the lead midway through the third, extending it to 61-55 after consecutive baskets by Durant. Barbosa scored the final four points of the period, though, and pulled Brazil within two heading to the fourth.
The crowd grew solidly behind the underdogs, cheering loudly for Brazil baskets and booing loudly when a small “U-S-A!” chant broke out in the fourth.
Brazil is coached by Ruben Magnano, who guided Argentina to victories over the U.S. in the 2002 worlds and 2004 Olympics, when the Argentines won gold. He nearly authored another upset, as players on both teams thought Barbosa’s shot was going in.
“I had Durant right in front of me, I couldn’t see,” Huertas said. “I was in the corner but I saw the ball tipped on both sides of the rim and went out. It was a big disappointment.”
U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski used his reserves liberally in the first two games, but gave much longer runs to the starters Monday after the backups were ineffective during their first stints.
Billups, who played in the 2007 victory over Brazil, thought it was good for his young teammates to have a close game so soon.
“We came out victorious, but for the young guys, just know how thin of a line it is. Possessions, turnovers, things like that that we talk about,’‘ he said. “Now they can see it.”
ISTANBUL (2010 FIBA World Championship) – Hosts Turkey got off to a dream start at the 2010 FIBA World Championship scoring the game’s first 14 points on four three-pointers and a dunk on their way to an 86-47 win over the Ivory Coast in Ankara.
Meanwhile, France scored the shock result of the day as they overcame a slow start to beat defending champions Spain 72-66 in Izmir behind 16 points and six rebounds by Mickael Gelabale, who had not played in a major international competition since the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan.
In Istanbul, the USA pulled away from Croatia in the second quarter to record a comfortable 106-78 win but will hope to improve on their free-throw shooting performance (12 of 22) in the coming games.
Greece opened the day’s play in Ankara by surviving China’s second half rally to take an 89-81 victory behind 42 combined points by Ioannis Bourousis and Nikos Zisis.
Here is a look at the day’s other games.
Group A (Kayseri): Australia played from behind throughout, but did just enough in the end to avoid an upset, edging out Jordan 76-75. Serbia thrashed Angola 94-44 despite being without star players Milos Teodosic and Nenad Krstic and Argentina survived a fourth quarter rally by Germany to edge them out 78-74.
Group B (Istanbul): Slovenia used some balance scoring to get the better of Tunisia 80-56 while Brazil raced to a 22-12 first quarter lead and did not look back as they saw off Iran 81-65.
Group C (Ankara): Russia pulled away in the final frame to shake off Puerto Rico 75-66, a result all the more impressive as David Blatt’s team were without star player Viktor Khryapa.
Group D (Izmir): Lithuania overcame a 37-point explosion by Kirk Penney to beat New Zealand 92-79. Lebanon scored a surprise and important victory, getting the better of Canada 81-71.
Boston Celtics starting point guard Rajon Rondo just had a sudden change of heart, announcing that he will be foregoing his decision to represent the United States in the World Basketball Championships in Istanbul, Turkey on September 12.
“Rajon came to us and said he was going to withdraw from the team, that he had some family matters to attend to and some things to take care of before the NBA season,” USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said in the team’s press release, as quoted from NBA.com’s “Hang Time Blog” entry by John Schuhmann. “He did an outstanding job during our training, we appreciate the effort and commitment he made to our program and he completely has our support,” Colangelo added. The NBA-reinforced 12-man roster for Team USA includes:
Chauncey Billups (Denver Nuggets)
Tyson Chandler (Dallas Mavericks)
Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)
Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder)
Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies)
Erick Gordon (Los Angeles Clippers)
Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers)
Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers)
Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves)
Lamar Odom (Los Angeles Lakers)
Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls)
Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder)
At first glance, Rondo’s decision could have a huge impact in the American’s quest to notch the gold medal in the said event held every four years, where they last ruled in 1994 when it was staged in Toronto, Canada. Rondo surely brings the kind of defensive tenacity that the Americans need in the guard spot and can be of great help on the offensive end in terms of finding the open men and distributing the goods, as he has proven during the Celtics’ NBA Finals run in the past few years. But his lack of a steady and consistent shooting from the perimeter may also prove to be a downside for Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s squad, as US’s lack of an offensive-minded center (oh, it only has Chandler to man the paint) will surely mean that the team’s firepower will come from the guards.
With such a “lousy” offensive cast for the Americans as their starting five (Rondo, Chandler, Billups, Iguodala, and Durant), the team had difficulty piling up the points in the opening parts of their exhibition games. Hang Time noted that they averaged a measly 14.3 points for the first quarter during their first three tune-up matches.
Coach K remedied this situation by inserting Rose and Odom into the first five, in place of Rondo and Chandler, against Spain last Monday (where the Americans squeezed through an 86-85 thriller). Though the strategy showed no immediate impact on the team’s play, there was an evident fluidity in their execution, especially in running the floor.
Still, everything remains to be seen as to how this crew of NBA stars would be able to stand up to the stiff competition that they’ll face in Turkey. And so we ask you, our dear readers. What do you think would be Team USA’s best chance of topping this event? Continue…
Thursday night was Team USA’s showcase game at the World Basketball Festival. And while a 24-minute scrimmage played with Anthony Anderson emceeing the festivities might seem like a frivolous affair, those of us lucky enough to be in attendance witnessed one of the most amazing displays of basketball success in the nearly 119-year history of the game — a sudden-death overtime dunk by Tyson Chandler Please believe me when I tell you that I am not overstating the importance or majesty of this slam. I mean, how often do sudden-death games happen in basketball? Almost never. And of those games, how often do they end in a dunk? Even less. Consider my point proven, and enjoy this replay of The Dunk Heard ‘Round the World.
Amazing in every sense of the word. From the excellent play call to the perfect execution on the court to the collision that could have prematurely ended the international careers of two important Team USA players to the jaw-dropping finish by Chandler — that is a legendary play that you’ve just witnessed. Don’t believe me? Then check out this video I took from inside Radio City Music Hall and listen to the crowd go crazy.
Years from now, our children’s children will tell their children of Tyson Chandler’s sudden-death dunk. It’s legend will only grow over time. Thankfully, we have YouTube to preserve its true memory. And thankfully, for one night and forevermore, we have Tyson Chandler’s dunk.
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