Olympic games, quarterfinals: Wednesday, August 20, 2008
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The United States of America reached the Olympic Men's basketball tournament semifinals by thrashing Australia 116-85 at Wukesong Arena on Wednesday. The U.S. showed why it is considered the top candidate to win the olympic gold medal and will face either Argentina or Greece in the semifinals on Friday. Meanwhile, the Boomers missed the chance to reach its fourth olympic semifinal since 1988. Kobe Bryant led the winners with 25 points. Lebron James added 16 and 9 rebounds, Carmelo Anthony had 15 points while Chris Bosh and Deron Williams had 10 for the United States, that outrebounded the Boomers by 56-28. Patrick Mills had 20 points for Australia, Glen Saville added 13, Joe Ingles had 11 and Brad Newley of Panellinios 10 for the Boomers, whose center Andrew Bogut got injured midway through the game. Australia trailed 25-24 after 10 minutes and still was within 50-43 late in the second quarter. James, Bryant and Anthony fueled a 19-0 run that broke the game open and the U.S. rolled from that moment until the final buzzer. The United States enter the medal rounds as the only unbeaten team in Beijing 2008.
Anthony got the U.S. going with a five-meter jumper while Dwight Howard added a layup-plus-foul for a 5-0 lead. The Boomers needed more than 2 minutes to score on a three-point play by Matt Nielsen of Lietuvos Rytas. Bryant and James fueled a 7-0 run that boosted the U.S. lead to 12-3 after 4 minutes. David Barlow stepped up with a driving layup than followed Mills' triple with his own shot from downtown to bring the Boomers within 15-12. Former ULEB Cup MVP Chris Anstey followed a three-pointer with a turnaround jumper while free throws by Saville tied the game, 21-21. Anthony struck from downtown but a power layup by Mills brought the Boomers within 25-24 after 10 minutes. Dwayne Wade opened the second quarter with a wild three-point play and Anthony scored again but Mills singlehandedly kept Australia as close as 30-28. Back-to-back dunks by James and Bryant helped the United States to get a 37-30 edge. Bogut tried to change things for Australia while a layup by Newley and a turnaround jumper by former All-Euroleague center David Andersen of FC Barcelona kept the Boomers in the game, 41-36. James and Anthony kept pacing the U.S., as the Boomers tried a small lineup with Mark Worthington as power forward. C.J. Bruton buried a jumper and Newley sank a triple for a 50-43 Australian deficit. An off-balanced jumper by Bryant and a buzzer-beating triple by Deron Williams boosted the U.S. lead to 55-43 at halftime.
Bryant opened the second half with a three-pointer while Anthony also struck from downtown to make it an 18-point game, 61-43. Jason Kidd sank a jumper while an outstanding power layup by Bryant make Australia call timeout at 66-43. A red hot Bryant fired in a triple that capped a game-breaking 19-0 run which bridged between both halves. The Boomers had been scoreless for 4 minutes until Mills nailed a three-pointer. The U.S. kept rolling, however, as James scored again while Bosh dunked it for a 25-point margin, 73-48. Mills tried to change things for the Boomers but Wade banked in a triple while a dominant Bosh gave his team a 82-52 lead. Saville and Mills brought the Boomers within 89-61 after three quarters. The outcome was already clear and both teams tried to please all fans at Wukesong Arena with a run-and-gun show. Michael Redd and Bryant buried consecutive shots while Ingles shined with a big dunk. Nothing relevant happened in the final minutes of the game, as the United States will keep fighting to win its first world-class championship since 2000 while Australia had a bitter end to an otherwise correct Olympic tournament.
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Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Euroleague.net
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