MANILA, Philippines – Team USA’s pursuit of a fifth straight gold medal continues in the 2024 Paris Olympics as it clashes with Puerto Rico on Saturday, August 3.
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FOURTH QUARTER
- USA 104-79: Joel Embiid dunks it down and celebrates
- USA 102-79: Jordan Howard hits a three
- USA 102-76: Joel Embiid with the shake-and-bake fadeaway
- USA 100-76: Gian Clavell hits a floater
- USA 100-74: USA hits the century mark off two Jayson Tatum free throws
- USA 98-74: Ismael Romero back-to-back hooks
- USA 98-72: Ismael Romero hook shot is good
- USA 98-70: Derrick White gets on the board with a wide-open dunk
- USA 96-70: Kevin Durant timely dish for the Anthony Davis two-hand jam. Timeout Puerto Rico, 5:45.
- USA 94-70: Stephen Thompson, Jr. answers with his own trey
- USA 94-67: Unstoppable Anthony Edwards hits a step-back three
- USA 91-67: Stephen Thompson, Jr. with a floater
- USA 91-65: Jordan Howard drills a three
- USA 91-62: Anthony Edwards continues his one-man show, isolates and hits a layup
- USA 89-62: Anthony Edwards steals and hammers home a perfect windmill jam
- USA 87-62: Aleem Ford hits a three
THIRD QUARTER
- END OF THIRD QUARTER: USA comes 10 minutes away from a group phase sweep as the pileup continues against Puerto Rico, 87-59.
- USA 87-56: Anthony Edwards showing off with the euro step and reverse layup
- USA 85-56: Anthony Edwards rattles in another long two
- USA 83-56: Christopher Ortiz sinks a crafty reverse layup
- USA 83-54: USA on no mercy mode as Anthony Davis adds two more
- USA 81-54: Anthony Edwards follows his idol with his own triple. Timeout Puerto Rico, 3:07.
- USA 78-54: Kevin Durant adds to the pileup with a three
- USA 75-54: Anthony Davis 2/2 from the line
- USA 73-54: Ismael Romero with another short stab. Timeout USA, 4:38.
- USA 73-52: Joel Embiid and Jose Alvarado trade threes
- USA 70-49: LeBron James blocks Ismael Romero, then dunks it on the other end
- USA 68-49: Ismael Romero banks in a layup
- USA 68-47: Joel Embiid sinks his free throws
- USA 66-47: Jose Alvarado and Devin Booker trade twos
SECOND QUARTER
- HALFTIME: USA wakes up after a nip-and-tuck first quarter and blasts Puerto Rico away with a 39-point second frame, 64-45.
- USA 64-45: LeBron James all alone on the break with an emphatic jam
- USA 62-45: Gian Clavell unsportsmanlike foul, Devin Booker sinks his bonuses
- USA 60-45: Devin Booker and-one conversion
- USA 57-45: Aleem Ford with the jam
- USA 57-43: Americans pulling away as LeBron James hammers back in Steph Curry’s miss. 11-0 run
- USA 55-43: LeBron James 2/2 from the line
- USA 53-43: Joel Embiid sinks a hook for the USA’s biggest lead so far
- USA 51-43: Steph Curry hits his second three
- USA 48-43: LeBron James behind the back pass, Joel Embiid easy two
- USA 46-43: Jose Alvardo pure from mid-range
- USA 46-41: Jayson Tatum easy two off a layup
- USA 44-41: Aleem Ford and Ismael Romero two quick buckets. Timeout USA, 4:14.
- USA 44-37: Anthony Davis first two points from the line
- USA 42-37: Anthony Edwards splits from the line
- USA 41-37: After two offensive boards, Kevin Durant sinks a corner three
- USA 38-37: George Conditt IV and Anthony Edwards trade twos
- USA 36-35: Kevin Durant sinks a tough two
- PUERTO RICO 35-34: Tremont Waters beautiful reverse layup is good
- USA 34-33: Tremont Waters goes 2/2 from the line
- USA 34-31: Anthony Edwards with a corner three
- USA 31-31: Jose Alvardo sinks a tough two
- USA 31-29: Kevin Durant gets on the board for three. Timeout Puerto Rico, 8:36.
- PUERTO RICO 29-28: Anthony Davis two-hand dunk
- PUERTO RICO 29-26: Bam Adebayo splits from the line
FIRST QUARTER
- END OF FIRST QUARTER: With nothing to lose, eliminated Puerto Rico seeks a strong final impression with a 29-25 lead over knockout stage-bound USA.
- PUERTO RICO 29-25: Gian Clavell hits a long two as Anthony Edwards with a quick response inside
- PUERTO RICO 27-23: Anthony Edwards rattles in a long two
- PUERTO RICO 27-21: Arnaldo Toro swishes a short hook
- PUERTO RICO 25-21: Bam Adebayo hammers it down for his first two
- PUERTO RICO 25-19: Anthony Edwards checks in and quickly hits a long two
- PUERTO RICO 25-17: Jordan Howard and Aleem Ford drill consecutive threes for the 11-0 run. Timeout USA, 2:12.
- PUERTO RICO 19-17: Arnaldo Toro gets on the board with a tip-in
- USA 17-17: Jose Alvarado drills another three
- USA 17-14: Devin Booker give-and-go on the break as Jayson Tatum slams one down
- USA 15-14: Davon Reed and Joel Embiid trade twos
- USA 13-12: Very quick 7-0 USA swing as Steph Curry swishes a trey. Timeout Puerto Rico, 5:16.
- PUERTO RICO 12-10: Devin Booker corrals his own miss for two
- PUERTO RICO 12-8: Steph Curry gets on the board for two
- PUERTO RICO 12-6: Jose Alvarado drills a three
- PUERTO RICO 9-6: Tremont Waters sinks a tough fadeaway
- PUERTO RICO 7-6: Jayson Tatum short jumper is good
- PUERTO RICO 7-4: Tremont Waters easy layup
- PUERTO RICO 5-4: Great pick-and-roll as LeBron James converts the layup after a Devin Booker dime
- PUERTO RICO 5-2: Jose Alvarado hits one of two free throws
- PUERTO RICO 4-2: Davon Reed with the go-ahead jumper
- USA 2-2: Jose Alvarado floater
- USA 2-0: Jayson Tatum easy dunk off a pass from Joel Embiid, who was promptly booed by the French
- USA STARTERS: Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker
- PUERTO RICO STARTERS: Jose Alvarado, Tremont Waters, Davon Reed, George Conditt IV, Ismael Romero
Despite already being assured of a ticket to the quarterfinals and the top spot in Group C, USA looks to avoid any letup as it goes for a dominant 3-0 sweep of the group phase before advancing to the knockout stage.
Thanks to a well-balanced attack on offense, the mighty Americans dominated South Sudan from start to finish for a resounding 103-86 win on Thursday, August 1.
A total of six USA players scored in double figures in the wire-to-wire victory, with Bam Adeabyo emerging as the surprise topscorer with 18 points on a healthy 8-of-10 field goal clip.
Kevin Durant followed up his 23-point explosion with a 14-point performance, while USA captain LeBron James delivered another all-around stat line of 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Going up against a winless Puerto Rican squad, expect USA head coach Steve Kerr to shake things up anew for the superstar-studded crew and try different combinations of players on the floor.
In their opening showdown versus Serbia, Kerr did not field in Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton, before benching Joel Embiid against South Sudan due to matchup concerns.
However, Kerr revealed that Embiid will be back in the starting lineup on Saturday, together with James, Steph Curry, Jrue Holiday, and Devin Booker.
For Puerto Rico – which is already eliminated from medal contention – look for New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado to bounce back after a lackluster 2-point showing in their 107-66 loss to Serbia last Wednesday, July 31.
Game time is 11:15 pm, Manila time. – Rappler.com
