USA bounces back, tops Argentina 108-80 in pre-Tokyo tune-up
USA beat Argentina 108-80 to avoid what would have been the first three-game losing streak in this era of NBA players being able to represent USA Basketball. Author: Associated Press Updated: 6:17 PM PDT July 13, 2021
USA Basketball finally made it look easy again.
Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal each scored 17 points and the Americans took control from the outset, beating Argentina 108-80 in Las Vegas on Tuesday to avoid what would have been the first three-game losing streak in this era of NBA players being able to represent USA Basketball on the international stage.
USA bounces back, tops Argentina 108-80 in pre-Tokyo tune-up
By TIM REYNOLDSJuly 14, 2021 GMT
USA Basketball finally made it look easy again.
Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal each scored 17 points and the Americans took control from the outset, beating Argentina 108-80 in Las Vegas on Tuesday to avoid what would have been the first three-game losing streak in this era of NBA players being able to represent USA Basketball on the international stage.
Zach LaVine scored 15 points for the U.S., which lost its first two games in Las Vegas to Nigeria and Australia. The Americans shot 51%, scored 33 first-quarter points to get off and running and beat Argentina for the 10th consecutive time since a loss at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
SUMMARY
In a 108-80 exhibition win over Argentina, Bradley Beal did a little bit of everything for Team USA, finishing with a team-high 17 points on 5-8 (625) shooting to go along with six rebounds, three assists and a steal. The Wizards guard finished the game with a plus-23 rating in 30 minutes of action.
“It was fluid,” Beal said of the Team USA offense postgame. “That just comes from us getting stops, for one, getting out in transition, which is something we love to do. We want to use our athletic abilities and talents – draw and kick for each other. When we do that, we move the ball two or three times across the floor, it’s able to give us easier shots, open shots, driving lanes and it’s just making the game simpler. We realize that everybody is talented but we’ve all got to sacrifice for the benefit of the team and everybody’s doing that.”
Team USA basketball vs. Argentina score, takeaways: Kevin Durant, United States bounce back with dominant win Team USA was coming off of surprising losses to Nigeria and Australia Jul 13, 2021 at 9:46 pm ET1 min read
Team USA bounced back in a big way on Tuesday night in a 108-80 victory over Argentina which was sorely needed following back-to-back losses to Nigeria and Australia earlier in the week. After getting off to a hot start, Team USA was able to build on their lead in the third quarter to really end any hopes that Argentina had of making things interesting down the stretch.
LAS VEGAS Team USA might not be “back” just yet, but they looked a whole lot closer to it Tuesday afternoon than they had in their first week of preparation for the 2021 Summer Olympics.
After losing their first two games of a five-game exhibition schedule leading up to the upcoming Olympics, the United State’s Men’s team defeated their Argentinian counterparts 108-80 in front of a crowd of 4,697 Tuesday at Michelob ULTRA Arena on the grounds of the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas.
“Some of the players haven’t played in a while, let alone practicing together,” said Men’s National Team head coach Gregg Popovich. “They haven’t shot the ball, they haven’t been doing a whole lot, so these moments to play these games are huge for us. It was better, bit by bit every day, I hope.”