Bryant, USA rout Argentina
For Puerto Rico, it was a classic case of good news-bad news.
The good news was it qualified for the last spot in the semifinals of the FIBA Americas Championship after defeating Canada 72-66 Thursday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.
The bad news is its semifinal opponent is Team USA, which beat Puerto Rico by 39 points Tuesday. The Americans, led by Kobe Bryant’s 27 points, warmed up for the semifinals by handling Argentina with little problem Thursday.
The 91-76 win, coming in front of 7,370 — including NBA commissioner David Stern — allowed Team USA to clinch the top seed in the semifinals. The USA (8-0) is the only undefeated team in the tournament. Argentina fell to 7-1.
"This has been a little different, playing six nights in a row," Team USA’s LeBron James said. "But thank God we have a deep bench."
The Puerto Rico-USA game will be the second semifinal, beginning at 4 p.m., and will be televised on ESPN Classic (Cable 322). The other Saturday semifinal will pit second-seeded Argentina against third-seeded Brazil at 1 p.m. in a rematch of Wednesday’s thrilling 86-79 overtime win by Argentina. The Brazilians played their way into the semifinals with a 96-62 win over Uruguay on Thursday.
The winners of Saturday’s semis will earn the Americas Zone’s two spots in next summer’s Olympics in Beijing and play for the FIBA Americas gold medal at 4 p.m. Sunday.
With Bryant off to a fast start, Team USA was in control early, leading 28-13 as the Los Angeles Lakers’ superstar guard pumped in 15 first-quarter points.
"It was a little stagnant at the start, so I got hot early and we rode that for a little bit and we were fine," Bryant said.
Carmelo Anthony, returning to the court after sitting out Wednesday’s game with Uruguay with a sore left heel, picked up where Bryant left off in the second quarter. Anthony scored nine points to help keep the USA ahead at halftime, 49-30. He finished with 18 points.
Argentina had a tough time from outside. At one point, it was 1-for-10 from beyond the 3-point arc and finished the game 5-for-21.
As has been the case throughout the tournament, the USA kept applying pressure defensively, forcing 20 turnovers and converting many of those into transition baskets.
In addition to his 27-point performance, Bryant again was stellar with his defensive prowess as he locked up Argentina star guard Carlos Delfino, limiting him to two field goals and seven points.
Anthony didn’t seem to care that Argentina was missing some key players.
"Argentina’s still Argentina," he said. "The players they had out there are good players. We played as if they were going to have their whole team. We had a good scouting report, and we just followed it."
And now, the Americans are one victory from securing a spot in the Olympics. But the pressure doesn’t seem to faze the team.
"We don’t really listen to it anymore," Anthony said. "We hear the doubts, the expectations. As long as we win."
As for Puerto Rico, it caught Canada dead-legged. The Canadians didn’t have much energy left and didn’t stay with the quicker Puerto Ricans, who led by 19 points in the fourth quarter. Carlos Arroyo led the way with 22 points.
PUERTO RICO BOUNCES BACK, MAKES SEMIFINALS
On the verge of being eliminated from the FIBA Americas Championship four days ago, Puerto Rico made its way to the semifinals with a 72-66 victory over Canada (3-4) on Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Puerto Rico (3-4) will face the United States in Saturday’s semifinals.
• Brazil 96, Uruguay 62 — Leandro Barbosa scored 32 points to lead Brazil (4-3) over Uruguay (2-5) and into the semifinals.
Brazil clinched third place and will play Argentina on Saturday.
• Mexico 101, Venezuela 91 — Anthony Pedroza scored 27 points to help Mexico (2-5) snap a six-game losing streak with a victory over Venezuela (1-6).
Former UNLV guard Romel Beck, Mexico’s leading scorer at 20.3 points per game, didn’t play because of a sore calf muscle.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SATURDAY’S GAMES Argentina vs. Brazil, 1 p.m. United States vs. Puerto Rico, 4 p.m. PUERTO RICO BOUNCES BACK, MAKES SEMIFINALS On the verge of being eliminated from the FIBA Americas Championship four days ago, Puerto Rico made its way to the semifinals with a 72-66 victory over Canada (3-4) on Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center. Puerto Rico (3-4) will face the United States in Saturday’s semifinals. Brazil 96, Uruguay 62 — Leandro Barbosa scored 32 points to lead Brazil (4-3) over Uruguay (2-5) and into the semifinals. Brazil clinched third place and will play Argentina on Saturday. Mexico 101, Venezuela 91 — Anthony Pedroza scored 27 points to help Mexico (2-5) snap a six-game losing streak with a victory over Venezuela (1-6). Former UNLV guard Romel Beck, Mexico’s leading scorer at 20.3 points per game, didn’t play because of a sore calf muscle. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
