Rowdy fans provide the excitement
BASKETBALL: Americans starting to put it together with 105-78 win over Argentina
RIO DE JANEIRO — On this night, the only time the Argentinians were better than the Americans was when they were singing the anthem.
Once the fans in blue and white were finished belting out their pride in unison, the United States men’s basketball team took over and did its best to drown out all the noise.
It was a predictable 105-78 win for Team USA, but it was not your average basketball game, owing to a soccer-like crowd fuelled by a national rivalry that didn’t even involve one of the teams in action.
“Amazing,” Toronto Raptors star Kyle Lowry said of the atmosphere in Carioca Arena, site of the quarter-finals of the Olympic basketball tournament. “It was awesome. It was fun to be a part of. The Brazilian crowd has been awesome for us.”
The NBA stars who make up Team USA got off to a slow start and were trying some lazy, one-on-one moves early, not paying attention to defensive detail, and that allowed Argentina to get a seven-point lead.
That had the fans bouncing, singing and chanting. And even though the score wasn’t close for long, the crowd kept up the fervour all night.
By the end of the first quarter, the Americans had a 25-21 lead and five minutes later they were up by 18. Their defence started making life uncomfortable for the Argentines and they started to hit shots from the field.
“We didn’t think we got off to a slow start ... we just missed some shots,” American Carmelo Anthony said. “They played extremely well coming out of the gates. Once we figured out the pace of the game, what they were doing, we figured it out, and just opened the game up from there.”
With only three NBA players on their roster — Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola and Nicolas Brussino — Argentina simply couldn’t keep up. But its fans certainly could. The singing and chanting grew louder, the jumping and dancing more feverish and the ire of the Brazilian fans more evident.
Every time the Argentine fans sang, the Brazilians booed. The tension rose with each passing minute. There were scuffles in the stands.
Brazilian fans have a natural dislike for Argentina’s sports teams and threw their support fully behind the Americans.
“It was a little bit of Argentina crowd, a little bit of Brazilian crowd and I loved it ... we are loving this place,” Lowry said. “The fans have an unbelievable energy, atmosphere — everything was just great.”
Some observers thought the U.S. might be susceptible to an upset after they won three-point games over Serbia and France in the round robin, but not on this night.
With Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant pouring in 27 points and Kyrie Irving and Anthony helping the Americans play their best allaround defensive game of the tournament, Argentina never really had a chance.
But the winner on this night was Olympic basketball.