LONDON (AP) —
The hiccups outnumbered the highlights, and for a while the U.S. racked up fouls faster than points.
The opener wasn’t artistic.
However, it was enough — easily enough.
Kevin Durant scored 22 points in his Olympic debut, Kevin Love added 14 and LeBron James had eight assists as the American men’s basketball team overcame some sloppy moments with a 98-71 win yesterday over France.
“We know everybody else expects us to win by 40 points,” said Carmelo Anthony. “For us, a win’s a win. We expect every game to be like this one.”
Seeking a second straight gold medal to match the redemptive one they captured in Beijing four years ago, the Americans expected a tough test from a French team featuring San Antonio guard Tony Parker and five other NBA players. And although the U.S. was never in real trouble — it only led 22-21 after one quarter — there were enough flaws (14 turnovers, 26 fouls) to keep coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff busy and this superstar-laden squad from feeling too comfortable.
“It wasn’t perfect,” said James, who only took six shots while setting up his teammates. “We’ve still got room for improvement. We had too many turnovers, too many fouls and we had a couple of defensive rebounds we could have come up with. But overall, we played a pretty good game for as close to 40 minutes as possible.”
Kobe Bryant had said this team could beat the 1992 Dream Team that changed international hoops forever at the Barcelona Games. That matchup is mythical, but the London Games aren’t and this U.S. team will have to play much better in upcoming games if it plans to maintain American dominance.
“We know we have to keep going for 40 minutes and play hard,” said Bryant, who only played 12 minutes.
Afterward, Parker, who nearly missed these games after undergoing surgery for a freak eye injury, didn’t want to concede anything to the Americans. But when asked if the U.S. team can be beat, he took a contemplative pause before responding.
“They’re going to be very, very tough to beat,” Parker said.
Argentina 102,
Lithuania 79
LONDON (AP) — Luis Scola scored 32 points, Manu Ginobili flirted with a triple-double to help Argentina get started on its quest for a third straight Olympic men’s basketball medal with a victory over Lithuania last night.
Carlos Delfino finished with 20 points for the Argentines in a rematch of their 87-75 victory over Lithuania in the bronze-medal game four years ago in Beijing.
Russia 95,
Britain 75
LONDON (AP) — Andrei Kirilenko, heading back to the NBA, scored 35 points to help Russia spoil Britain’s return to Olympic men’s basketball with a victory yesterday.
Spain 97,
China 81
LONDON (AP) — Pau Gasol had 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead Spain to a victory over China yesterday in the Olympic men’s basketball opener for both teams.
Brazil 75,
Australia 71
LONDON (AP) — Leandro Barbosa scored 16 points and Brazil held on to beat Australia yesterday in the Olympic men’s basketball opener for both teams.
Brazil opened the third quarter with a 10-2 run and extend its lead to 11.
Nigeria 60,
Tunisia 56
LONDON (AP) — Al-Farouq Aminu had 15 points to help Nigeria hold off a second-half rally by Tunisia in the first game of the men’s Olympic basketball tournament yesterday with a narrow victory.
Nigeria held Tunisia to 15 points in the first half and held a 16-point halftime lead.
They led by as many as 19 and seemed in control of the game.
Tunisia, however, began the second half with a 10-2 run and closed the gap to two points late in the game.
But Aminu, who plays for the NBA’s New Orleans Hornets, made of one of two free throws to seal the victory with 11 seconds remaining.
Amine Rzig scored 15 of his 18 points in the second-half to lead Tunisia in the Group A game.
It was the Olympic debut for both teams in men’s basketball.
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USA's Kevin Durant drives to the basket past France's Ali Traore during the first half of a preliminary men's basketball game at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 29, 2012, in London. AP Photo/Charles Krupa
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U.S. men's basketball team cruises
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