Olympic results 2012: US wins 126-97 USA vs Argentina basketball match
Olympic 2012 men’s Basketball results are out. USA vs Argentina basketball match ends in 126-97 win for the US
The United States men’s basketball team lived up to the hype and beat Argentina to move on to its next target, Australia. The game was aggressive and unlike the Olympics with the somewhat intentional technical fouls, taunting and finger pointing that resembled more of wrestling match.
The U.S. team was ahead by just one point at halftime. They could outdo the Argentine squad only in the third by 42-17 to take the reins. At the end of the game, United States was the only team that stayed undefeated to complete the pool play.
The earlier victory against Lithuania was tight and the game against Argentina would follow suit – at least that’s what it seemed for the first half. The U.S. men’s team led just 60-59 with Argentina making a good use of its offence.
The U.S. men’s basketball team is known for its defence, but Monday there was a bit different picture on view. Argentina made 11 of its first 15 shots in the first quarter which made the team fall behind 30-29 with 1 minute 3 seconds left. Durant was just on time to save the first quarter to give his team a 34-32 lead.
The combo of Kevin Durant and LeBron James helped the U.S. team take charge of the third quarter. Durant turned the one point lead of the third quarter into his team’s favour that finally sent the U.S. into the quarter-finals. Durant led the scores with a total of 28. LeBron took home 18 points but with four fouls, he couldn’t be anywhere but the bench.
Forward Carmelo Anthony made a 3, but he got knocked down by Facundo Campazzo of Argentina. The entire game, somebody and everybody got knocked down like a part of a chain-reaction.
Manu Ginobili of Argentina scored 16, and now his team will play or rather fight Brazil at the knockouts. But Argentina has one more chance to settle the score against the U.S. team. If Australia gets beaten by the U.S. and if Argentina can beat Brazil, there are chance we might see a replay of the 2004 Athens semifinal match.
If that really happens and chances are there it will, we will see the arch rivals settle scores the old way against each other. That might be another aggression induced foul-play.
There is another reason why Argentina seems like a better rival at the moment. Brazil is stacked with players who can match the size of the NBA roster. The U.S. team falls a bit short here. The sooner Team USA can see Spain now, the better it seems for the U.S. basketball team.
The Spanish team, whether or not lost intentionally, has managed to avoid a one-on-one against the United States in the semi-final for good.
If both the teams have a good day this Wednesday, they will meet in the semi-finals for the third time in a row. The fact still remains the same; the Americans are still unbeaten and if they have some strategy up their sleeves for the defence, it’s not clear to us. Just that they are getting the job done.
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