LAS VEGAS (AP) – New team. Same old result.
Full of new star power, the US men’s basketball team opened its bid for a third straight Olympic gold medal with a 111-74 exhibition romp over Argentina on Friday night.
A US team that hasn’t lost a game in 10 years had little trouble with Argentina, which some consider a medal contender in Rio. Paul George scored 14 first-half points, Kevin Durant added 12, and the US blew open the game early before an appreciative crowd on the Las Vegas Strip.
Even with Kobe Bryant retired and LeBron James taking this Olympics off, there was no real talent drop off on a team heavily favored to win gold once again. The depth of the US showed as coach Mike Krzyzewski rotated players in and out, searching for the right combinations on a team with 10 new players from 2012.
“Nothing is for sure,’’ Durant said. “We want to get this gold and right now we have a job to do. We have to prepare the right way.’’
The game was the first of five exhibitions the US will play before traveling to Rio to defend the gold medal. The US team has spent the last week practicing in Las Vegas in preparation for the tour and the games.
For Durant the game was a chance to play with a pair of his new Golden State teammates, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.
It was also a chance for Durant and Carmelo Anthony – the only two players from the 2012 team – to demonstrate that this will be their team in Rio.
Both players cheered from the bench as the minutes were spread around, jumping up to clap for teammates. Every US player got quality time, with Green’s 12 minutes the least played by any American.
“We’re going to have fun and we’re going to enjoy ourselves,’’ Anthony said. “If it’s not fun it’s not worth it.
We’re going to enjoy ourselves but at the same time we’re going to be focused in trying to get that gold medal.’’
Durant finished as the game’s high scorer with 23 points, while George had 18 and Carmelo Anthony 17. Andres Nocioni had 15 for Argentina, while Manu Ginobili added 11 for Argentina, which lost to the US in the semifinals of the 2012 Olympics.
Though at times little defense was played, there was plenty of offense to keep the crowd at the new T-Mobile Arena happy. The teams combined to put up 70 3-point attempts, 41 of them from the US.
Oddsmakers had made the US a prohibitive 29.5-point favorite in what at times looked a lot like an NBA All-Star game.
But while the US team is loaded with 12 NBA players, the Argentines had only three on their roster and the talent difference showed.
While the team is full of new players, the gold medal run will be the last for Krzyzewski, the national coach for the last decade. His teams have lost only one game during his reign, which will end after the Olympics with San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich taking over.
