LILLE (France) - Another sellout crowd, another magnificent performance by the United States. A powerful second quarter propelled them to a 104-83 win over Puerto Rico, finishing the group stage with a 3-0 record.
At +64, the United States join Germany (3-0, +47) as one of the two top seeds in the Quarter-Finals draw, pushing Canada to second pot because of their 3-0 and +20 points' difference.
Turning point
Puerto Rico knew they were eliminated before tip-off, but still went out there and weren't afraid to compete, taking an 8-point lead late in the first quarter. They had 29 points in the first quarter, and for a moment, they hoped they could repeat their feat from 2004, when Puerto Rico stunned the United States at the Olympics in Athens.
LeBron James was on that team. That's probably why he knew it was crucial for him to take over the game before it got out of hand.
Puerto Rico were trailing 44-41 at the four minute mark in the second quarter, but after coach Steve Kerr called for time, LeBron returned to the floor with three straight assists, two dunks, two free throws and another assist, getting 6 points and 4 assists in that span to create a 64-45 advantage at the break.
More than enough to enjoy a dominant second half scoring burst by Anthony Edwards.
Game hero
The fact that he had 10 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds, while shooting 4-of-6 from the field sounds like a solid day at the office. But when you consider LeBron did all of that in just 18 minutes of work, and USA were a +18 team, it's even more impressive.
Honorable mention: Anthony Edwards, with 26 points in 17 minutes, shooting 11-of-15 from the field.
Stats don't lie
USA had a clear game plan to run the floor and get deep seals as fast as possible against a much smaller lineup of Puerto Rico. That got the opponent's defense scrambling, and USA just shared the ball to find the gaps and score with ease.
They finished the game with a 30-20 advantage in assists.
Bottom line
Greece head coach Vassilis Spanoulis talked to media on Friday, saying how tough it is for one team to peak twice in the same calendar year. Puerto Rico are a team that just confirm that thesis, winning the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in early July was their peak, and they weren't able to repeat it in France.
Jose Alvarado was their best player on the day with 18 points in 22 minutes.
The United States now await the draw on Saturday night, local time.
They said
We've gotta be ready for Brazil - Coach Kerr
"We've seen almost everybody, but we haven't seen Brazil, and that's our focus. I believe that's the matchup, I don't know if it's official yet, but we've gotta be ready, they made 18 threes yesterday, and they are the best offensive rebounding team in the tournament, so we have to be ready." - USA head coach Steve Kerr about the possible matchup with Brazil in the Quarter-Finals
I'm playing alongside the greatest players of all time - Ant Ewards
"It's a lot more fun, I'm playing alongside the greatest players of all time. I think the experience is a lot better just because I'm able to go see ping pong - or table tennis." - Anthony Edwards, USA.
Quick notes
USA scored 100 or more points for the 58th time at the Olympics, no other team has more than 17 games in triple digits
Puerto Rico allowed back-to-back 100-point games for the first time ever at the Olympics
Ismael Romero (12pts, 10reb) had the first double-double by a Puerto Rico player since Daniel Santiago had 16 points and 10 rebounds against Angola in 2004
Anthony Edwards scored 26 in only 17:16 minutes of action, the only other player with more than 25 points in less playing time was Carmelo Anthony with 37 points in 14 minutes against Nigeria in 2012
Kevin Durant has 483 points in his Olympic career, moving to 8th spot all-time. He's 40 points behind Manu Ginobili (523) in seventh spot
FIBA