Rio-Cap: USA 82, Spain 76 (or, Technically Not Pretty, But Still A Win)

After using their high-powered offensive game to see them through the majority of their Olympic trials thus far, Team USA finally had a game where they had to showcase their purported gritty defensive side in their semi-final showdown with old rival Spain. Despite a flourish towards the end of the first quarter that gave the Americans a 26-17 advantage, they would be hard pressed to break the 80 point barrier for the duration against their Spanish foes. But, they gave as good as they got, hounding Spain into just 39% shooting, grabbing an astounding 21 offensive boards, and shutting down just about everyone not named Gasol.

It was the kind of ugly with a capital “U” game that the US hadn’t yet faced, that featured a bizarre amount of Technical foul calls in the first half (there were five between the two teams, including one on Spain’s head coach).

Maybe don't call technicals every play? #FIBAHoopIdea

— Kevin Pelton (@kpelton) August 19, 2016

However, it was honestly probably exactly the kind of game they needed going into the gold medal round on Sunday. The Americans didn’t shoot all that well themselves (just 42%), but they got enough offense from Klay Thompson (who led the way with 22 points while shooting 50% from the floor and from downtown), Kevin Durant (14 points, to move past LeBron for second all-time in US Olympic scoring, and eight boards) and Kyrie Irving (13 points, five rebounds) to stay comfortably ahead of Spain. They also got a tremendous boost from DeAndre Jordan, who started for a second consecutive game and had to play extensive minutes with DeMarcus Cousins in foul trouble (Boogie actually fouled out with just over a minute left to go in the third quarter). DJ not only chipped in nine points, but also tied a US Olympic record with 16 boards, and added four big blocks. He also threw down this epic put-back dunk…

https://vine.co/v/5MHZX5D73eg

Pau Gasol, who played despite a sore right calf, was a one-man wrecking crew for Spain, scoring a game-high 23 on 9-19 shooting (including two triples) with eight boards. The US didn’t have much of an answer for the big Spaniard, but he didn’t exactly have much help either (the only other teammate in double figures was Sergio Rodriguez off the bench with 11). With Pau off the floor (and his brother Marc still out after surgery to repair his broken foot), the US were able to push their advantage in the second half, making the contest not nearly as close as the final score indicated. In fact, they led wire-to-wire, and were up by as many as 15 in the fourth quarter (13 with just over a minute remaining) before Spain hit a few last second buckets.

Now it’s on to their third straight gold-medal game for the US after victories over Spain in 2008 and 2012. This time around, the opponent is Serbia, who came just an open three away from taking the Americans to overtime in Group A play last week. The Serbians got to the final round by demolishing a strong Australian team, 87-61, giving up just five points to the Aussies in the first quarter and 14 for the first half. Given how they shut down Australia, the US may have to muster yet another defensive gem to capture the gold this time. According to KD… they’re looking forward to the challenge…

“This is where we wanted to be,” said Durant. “We talked about it all summer and to be here for the final game, to win the gold, for all the marbles, we like our chances.”

The gold medal game tips off on Sunday at 2:45 EST. Since it’s the final game of these Olympics, we’ll have a Live Thread up and running for the occasion.