Team USA Flexed Its Muscle After A Slow Start In A Blowout Win Over Puerto Rico

It’s been 20 years since the USA men’s basketball team last failed to take home the gold medal at an Olympics. The most memorable part of the program’s low point in 2004 was a blowout loss at the hands of Puerto Rico, the first time the USA men had lost an Olympic game with NBA players on a roster.

On Saturday, the American squad once again found themselves up against Puerto Rico in a game with little in the way of stakes beyond pride. Team USA was guaranteed a knockout round spot, while Puerto Rico was eliminated, but that also created the potential for danger for the Americans. Puerto Rico, led by Jose Alvarado (18 points), came out attacking and took a 29-25 lead after the first quarter, marking yet another slow start for Team USA.

However, we there would not be a repeat of 2004 in store, as the Americans, led by Anthony Edwards, LeBron James, and Joel Embiid (who had his best game of the tournament) stormed back in the second quarter to take full command, blasting the Puerto Rican side 39-16 in the quarter to take a 19-point lead into halftime.

The third quarter saw much of the same, as Team USA ratcheted up the defensive intensity and Puerto Rico simply didn’t have answers. That let the Americans get out in transition, where they’ve dominated all tournament. After the first two games were dominated by USA Basketball veterans, Saturday saw one of the young bucks get rolling, as Anthony Edwards had a dominant performance with 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting, as Puerto Rico just had nothing for Ant — who finally got the fastbreak dunk opportunity he’s been waiting for in the early fourth quarter.

It was an impressive performance from Team USA to show, if nothing else, they’re capable of playing to their highest level with nothing but pride on the line. That is an underrated quality and, to me, speaks volumes about this team’s mentality on their quest for gold. Joining Edwards in double figures for Team USA on Saturday were Joel Embiid (15 points), Kevin Durant (11 points), LeBron James (10 points, 8 assists), Jayson Tatum (10 points, 10 rebounds), and Anthony Davis (10 points).

Now, the Americans move on to the knockout rounds where they’ll start with a game against Brazil after securing the top-seed out of the group stage thanks to their massive point differential. They also finally get through a game without any major rotation questions, as the only DNP against Puerto Rico was Jrue Holiday, who was a late scratch with an ankle injury that moved Tatum back into the starting lineup.