Spain vs. Brazil: Score and Reaction from 2016 Olympic Men's Basketball

For much of the last decade, Spain has looked like the only potential challenger to the United States' reign of international basketball dominance. Two captivating gold medal games seemed to spark a rivalry that would have the rest of the world playing catch-up for the foreseeable future.  

It appears it's already time for a new era.

While the United States continues its dominant run in Rio, Spain tumbled for the second straight contest with a 66-65 loss to Brazil on Tuesday. Marquinhos tipped in a Marcelo Huertas miss with 5.5 seconds remaining to give the hosts the lead in a thrilling, back-and-forth affair.

Spain's Pau Gasol had missed two critical free-throws on the previous possession that would have put the Group B favorites up by three. Sergio Llull and Rudy Fernandez each missed contested shots on Spain's final possession. 

Very well put, Justin Rowan:

The Spaniards are 0-2 overall and sit in fifth place overall in Group B, shockingly on the verge of missing knockout play. They will have to win two of their next three games and likely all three to avoid an unthinkable early exit.

The game story followed a similar pattern to Spain's upset loss to Croatia. Offensively, the smart, free-flowing attack that put a scare into the United States in London was nowhere to be found. The ball stagnated almost constantly, leading to late Gasol post-ups or wild shots from the Spanish guards. 

Brazil held Spain to 36.5 percent shooting, including a dreary 5-of-19 rate from beyond the arc. Spain shot below 40 percent in both of its games and topped the 20-point mark in a quarter just twice. There isn't a much franker way to put it than BBALLBREAKDOWN's assessment:

Gasol led the way for Spain with 13 points and 10 rebounds, but he was far from the same offensive fulcrum he was against Croatia. The newly minted San Antonio Spur shot 4-of-11 from the field and 5-of-12 from the free-throw line.

Llull (11 points) and Sergio Rodriguez (10 points) were the only other two Spain players in double figures. Fernandez, Nikola Mirotic and Ricky Rubio combined to shoot 4-of-17 from the field. Rubio fouled out in the fourth quarter and has been one of the biggest disappointments of these Olympics.

On the bright side:

Huertas (11 points) and Marquinhos (10 points) were the only two players in double figures for Brazil. The hosts, who looked utterly hapless in the first half against Lithuania, have played excellent defensive basketball for the last six quarters. They held Lithuania to 24 second-half points in their near-comeback from a 30-point deficit and kept Spain under 15 points in the first and third quarters.

Given their lack of offensive firepower—they shot 38.3 percent Tuesday and are 6-for-29 from three for the tournament—this is a necessary stylistic evil.

The real story here nonetheless remains Spain, which was viewed as a surefire medal contender even without injured center Marc Gasol. No other team outside the United States has the same level of NBA or elite international talent. Lull is Spain's only starter without NBA experience, and that is entirely by his choosing.

While there is always some bad luck involved in losing two games by a total of three points, the lack of offensive competence the Spaniards have brought to Rio has been shocking. Now the two-time defending silver medalists could be going home far earlier than expected.