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USA | 98 | Final | 71 | France |  |
STARTERS
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Chris Paul, G 2-4 FG | 1-2 3PT | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 5 PTS Maybe this is just who CP3 is going to be for Team USA. He played fine, but he still wasn't the guy we see in the NBA who always has the game in the palm of his hand. He plays good perimeter D and makes smart decisions, but he's not in charge here. |
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Kobe Bryant, G 2-6 FG | 2-5 3PT | 4-4 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 10 PTS For the first time in his career, Kobe is a third option on this team — his role is to provide another scoring outlet after LeBron and KD and take his shots when they come. He did that well today, playing within the flow of the game and getting to the line. |
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Kevin Durant, F 6-13 FG | 3-5 3PT | 7-7 FT | 9 REB | 2 AST | 22 PTS Now that's what we call an Olympic debut. Durant attacked relentlessly, shot well from deep, and lived at the stripe. He also came up big in the paint, pulling down 9 boards and registering 2 blocks. He did it all, and France simply didn't have an answer. |
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LeBron James, F 4-6 FG | 1-2 3PT | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 8 AST | 9 PTS Team USA's undisputed floor leader. He does it all — handles the ball, initiates the offense, sets the tone on D, and sets up his teammates. He may not have scored much today, but he did throw a wicked 50-foot bounce pass that made me scream with joy. |
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Tyson Chandler, C 3-5 FG | 0-0 3PT | 2-5 FT | 9 REB | 3 AST | 8 PTS A nice bounce-back game from Tyson. He still didn't play much, but it wasn't because of foul trouble. He was aggressive on both ends, and he scored, passed, rebounded, and defended beautifully. Imagine what he could have done with more than 11 minutes... |
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BENCH
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Carmelo Anthony, F 3-10 FG | 0-2 3PT | 3-4 FT | 9 REB | 0 AST | 9 PTS Remember when Melo was on fire against Spain? He was the opposite of that today. Yet, despite shooting a dismal 30 percent from the field, he didn't stop battling and made his presence felt on the glass. That's admirable, so I can't fault him too much. |
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Deron Williams, G 1-6 FG | 0-3 3PT | 1-2 FT | 4 REB | 6 AST | 3 PTS Another poor shooting night for Deron, but he mostly made up for it by distributing the ball well and getting his teammates involved. He did pick up a few more turnovers than I would like, but this still represented a marked improvement over his past few outings. |
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Russell Westbrook, G 2-6 FG | 0-0 3PT | 5-6 FT | 4 REB | 3 AST | 9 PTS Russell will always be Russell, and this was a pretty Russell game. Sure, he foisted up a few tough shots and made a bad decision or two, but he also played like an absolute bulldog, pressuring the ball on every trip and constantly attacking. I'll take that any day. |
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Kevin Love, F 5-8 FG | 1-2 3PT | 3-4 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 14 PTS It seems we are experiencing a Kevin Love renaissance. After weeks of poor play, Love has broken out in the last two games. He didn't rebound as well here, but he was alert offensively and scored efficiently. Now if he could just stop Ali Traore from going left... |
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Andre Iguodala, F 0-1 FG | 0-1 3PT | 1-2 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 1 PTS A ho-hum game from Iggy. He played hard and scrapped in his limited minutes like he always does, but he didn't really stand out. He is the epitome of a role player on this team, and that's probably exactly where he should be. |
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James Harden, G 2-5 FG | 0-3 3PT | 1-2 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 5 PTS Harden didn't knock down his open looks, which is the main reason he is on the team in the first place, but he did bring the house down with a sky-scraping breakaway jam in the fourth that kind of made it all worth it. |
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Anthony Davis, C 1-2 FG | 0-0 3PT | 1-2 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 3 PTS Even though he's only getting minutes in garbage time, I can't help but be impressed with Davis. He came in and played hard, grabbed some boards, recorded a massive block, and threw some pretty sweet outlet passes. Pretty good for a rookie. |
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