US defeats Puerto Rico 104-83 and clinches top seed in Olympics knockout round

Anthony Edwards shotmaking acumen and his high-flying antics satisfied the viewing audience

Anthony Edwards helped the bench match the starters’ output in the impressive 21 point win

The United States again was given fits by an opponent in the opening stanza, but recovered with a devastating 62-30 run spanning the second and third quarters to go up by as many as 29 points in a thrashing of Puerto Rico that a score of 104-83 doesn’t do justice. Rising star Anthony Edwards (26 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals) had his statement game of the opening round with a handful of highlight moments, and the team again shared the ball with 30 assists on their 40 field goals.

Puerto Rico connected from distance (5-for-8) and feasted on the offensive boards to make a disconcerting 11-0 run to take their biggest lead of the game late in the first quarter. Edwards paired a wing three and a swooping layup to close the gap to 25-29 after one.

Durant stepped in to start the second and willed himself to several buckets. Despite the US finding its offensive footing, Puerto Rico managed to keep things close through the middle minutes of the frame. Stephen Curry’s catch-and-shoot three, sandwiched between Embiid’s bullying baskets and LeBron James’ playmaking, kickstarted a closing 18-2 run which put the US up 19 at the half.

Ismael Romero outhustled USA’s frontline in the paint and on the break for some needed offense, while New Orleans’ Jose Alvarado wreaked havoc on both ends to push the US a little out of their comfort zone. A coast-to-coast transition slam by James and an Embiid transition three pushed the Puerto Rico deficit to 24. Threes from Durant and Edwards in succession made it nearly impossible for the Puerto Ricans to mount a serious comeback attempt.

Alongside Edwards, five other US players scored in double digits – Joel Embiid (15 points and 3 rebounds), James (10 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds), and Jayson Tatum (10 points and 10 rebounds) of the starters and Kevin Durant (11 points) and Anthony Davis (10 points and 2 blocks) off the bench. Jrue Holiday missed the game with lingering injuries from the previous tilt. Alvarado (18 points and 3 assists) and Romero (12 points and 10 rebounds) paced the Puerto Rican attack in the loss, and the US territory was eliminated with an 0-3 record.

Observations

For some odd reason, all of the live and replay options started with a break in play at 5:16 left in the first quarter with the US up 13-12. Maybe USA basketball IS really second or third fiddle in priority with all the gold medals that Simone Biles is winning. There’s a good likelihood that Curry and Embiid missed some shots during that 4+ minutes of action.
Current Spurs that could be ‘28 Olympians? Wembanyama (France), Devin Vassell (US), Jeremy Sochan (Poland – if they qualify).
“Embiid Belongs on the Floor” Sequence: The Sixer backed his man into the paint and did his patented turnaround jumper midway through the opening frame and then swatted away an Alvarado attempt at the other end. He then threw a pass right towards the ankle of Devin Booker shortly after that scooted out of bounds.
FIBA Derrick Sequence: After a Davis dunk early in the second period, White streaked in to steal the inbounds pass and spoonfed Durant for the first of two attempts from straightaway (with the second one going in).
Sequence of the Game #1: Late in the first half, James pushed the ball ahead in transition to Curry, who missed badly enough off the backboard to allow the 39-year old the chance to slam home the carom.
Sequence of the Game #2: With the game safely in hand, Edwards, channeling His Airness, stole an errant Puerto Rico pass and did a one-handed windmill jam that looked way cooler than how I described it just now.
Alvarado successfully pulled off his Grand Theft Alvarado move in the third quarter (lurking in the backcourt and sneaking up to an unsuspecting ballhandler to nab a steal) – knocking it away from Embiid and recovering it deep in the corner.