USA cruise past Argentina, set up showdown with Spain for place in Gold Medal Game

RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) - The USA progressed to the Semi-Finals of the Olympic Basketball Tournament after beating Argentina, 105-78, in Wednesday's third Quarter-Final at Carioca Arena 1.

The two-time defending champions will face Spain in Friday's Semi-Finals, in a re-match of the Gold Medal Games at the last two Olympics.

Argentina started well and had the game's first double-digit lead when Andres Nocioni hit a three-pointer for a 19-9 advantage just under six minutes into the game.

The USA came back and a 20-0 run spanning the end of the first quarter and start of the second saw them turn a 21-16 deficit into a 36-21 lead. A spurt of 13 unanswered points gave them a 49-27 advantage, before Argentina scored the last nine points of the second quarter to get within 56-40 at the break.

With their offense seemingly firing on all cylinders, Mike Krzyzewski's men pulled away further in the third quarter, outscoring Argentina 31-21 to go up 87-61 and that ended any hopes for Sergio Hernandez might have had of his charges making a miraculous comeback. 

Turning Point: After Nocioni's three-pointer put Argentina up 19-9, the USA outscored them 16-2 to end the first quarter to edge in front 25-21. That turned the tide for good.   

Stats Don't Lie: The USA bench provided a huge lift, accounting for 54 points. All 12 players got on the scoring sheet. 

Hero: Kevin Durant had a very efficient night, pouring in a game-high 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 7-of-9 from three-point range. He also added 7 rebounds and 6 assists. All of this in 28 minutes of play. Manu Ginobili, in his last game for Argentina, had 14 points, 7 assists and 3 rebounds. Andres Nocioni, who announced after the game that he too was retiring from the national team, had 12 points and 5 rebounds.

The Bottom Line: The USA remain on course to win a third Olympic gold medal. They will face a in-form Spain side that has won its last four games comfortably in Friday's Semi-Finals. 

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