The U.S. opened the game on a 20-3 run and cruised to a 106-57 victory at the Wukesong Culture and Sports Center. Germany scored on just one of its first 14 possessions, turning the ball over four times along the way. The fourth was a LeBron James steal that led to a fast break where Kobe Bryant fed a trailing James for an emphatic hammer dunk, capping the 20-3 start for the U.S. Germany turned the ball over six times in the opening 10 minutes and the U.S. led by 19 after the first quarter. So, the U.S. finished pool play the way they should have, with a 49-point win that pushes their average margin of victory to 32.2 points per game. And now, the games really count, with a single-elimination, eight-team tournament that begins Wednesday. As the No. 1 seed in Group B, the U.S. will face Australia, the No. 4 seed out of Group A (8 a.m. ET, NBC). Five down. Three to go. The U.S. dominated Group B, but the business of winning the gold medal starts now.
| Source: nba.com, yahoo.com, getty | From USA Basketball | ||
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