Olympic Basketball 2016: Sunday Results, Scores, Highlights and Reaction
With the United States men's and women's Olympic basketball teams in action Sunday, fans in Rio were offered a firsthand look at the disparate trajectories of the two pre-tournament favorites.
While both entered play undefeated, the men and women have gone about it in far different ways. The U.S. women remain dominant, thrashing through opponents by massive margins on their way to sleepwalking to gold. The U.S. men, meanwhile, have battled through two down-to-the-wire thrillers, and they've looked at their most vulnerable since the 2004 bronze.
The remainder of Group A on the men's side and Group B for the women were also in action as pool play concludes. Group B for the men will play Monday to finalize the quarterfinals matchups.
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Here is a look at how things turned out in Sunday's action.
Men's Group Standings
| 1 | United States* | 5 | 5 | 0 | 524 | 407 | +117 | 10 |
| 2 | Australia* | 5 | 4 | 1 | 444 | 368 | +76 | 9 |
| 3 | France* | 5 | 3 | 2 | 423 | 378 | +45 | 8 |
| 4 | Serbia* | 5 | 2 | 3 | 426 | 387 | +39 | 7 |
| 5 | Venezuela | 5 | 1 | 4 | 315 | 444 | -129 | 6 |
| 6 | China | 5 | 0 | 5 | 318 | 466 | −148 | 5 |
| 1 | Argentina* | 4 | 3 | 1 | 368 | 336 | +32 | 7 |
| 2 | Lithuania* | 4 | 3 | 1 | 311 | 338 | −27 | 7 |
| 3 | Spain | 4 | 2 | 2 | 340 | 284 | +56 | 6 |
| 4 | Croatia | 4 | 2 | 2 | 310 | 326 | −16 | 6 |
| 5 | Brazil (H) | 4 | 1 | 3 | 325 | 338 | −13 | 5 |
| 6 | Nigeria | 4 | 1 | 3 | 323 | 355 | −32 | 5 |
Men's Results
United States 100, France 97
The United States finished group play undefeated but once again suffered a scare in its 100-97 win over France.
Klay Thompson scored 30 points, finally getting going after an ugly start in Rio, and Kevin Durant added 17 on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting night.
But despite France playing without Tony Parker, Team USA's defense again left gaps to be desired. France shot 56.2 percent as a team, led by Nando De Colo and Thomas Heurtel with 18 apiece. Nicolas Batum added 14 points and Joffrey Lauvergne had 12 points off the bench as France got consistently good looks from inside and midrange.
Kyrie Irving, who had 10 points and 12 assists, and Carmelo Anthony (10 points) were also in double figures for the U.S.
Leading by 12 points heading into the fourth quarter, the U.S. fell apart on both ends as France attempted to mount a torrid comeback. The final score makes the game seem closer than it was—a DeMarcus Cousins tip-in gave the U.S. a 10-point lead with 1:25 remaining—but the late run is indicative of a poor overall showing in group play.
The 117-point differential over the first five games is 74 off from 2012. It's clear this team has a lot of work to do heading into elimination play.
Australia 81, Venezuela 56
Australia held Venezuela to just six points in the first quarter, and it didn't get much better from there for the Venezuelans, who fell 81-56 on Sunday.
Chris Goulding led the way for the Boomers, scoring 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting. He also finished with three rebounds, two assists and one steal. Andrew Bogut also returned to the court and wound up with 10 points and six boards.
With qualifying sewn up and the game well in hand, Australia coach Andrej Lemanis was able to rest some of his key players. Bogut appeared for 18 minutes, while Matthew Dellavedova was on the court for just over eight minutes. Patty Mills, meanwhile, didn't even play whatsoever.
Australia won't know its opponents until the results are in from Group B, but Lemanis was smart to keep an eye on the quarterfinals.
Serbia 94, China 60
On the strength of a 35-point third quarter, Serbia coasted to a 94-60 victory over China on Sunday to seal a place in the quarterfinals.
At halftime, Serbia held a comfortable 15-point lead. Any hopes of a comeback for China were quickly dashed when Serbia's advantage swelled to 35 points going into the final frame.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored a team-high 19 points, while Nikola Kalinic chipped in with 15 points. Nikola Jokic (eight points, 10 rebounds) narrowly missed out on a double-double.
China had little answer for Serbia's offense. As a team, the Serbs shot 32-of-64 from the field and 12-of-27 from three-point range. China, on the other hand, was a relatively healthy 40 percent overall shooting but missed 14 of its 19 three-point attempts.
Yi Jianlian got little support from his teammates. He scored a game-high 20 points and was one of two Chinese players to score in double figures, along with Zhai Xiaochuan (11 points).
Women's Group Standings
| 1 | Australia* | 5 | 5 | 0 | 400 | 345 | +55 | 10 |
| 2 | France* | 5 | 3 | 2 | 344 | 343 | +1 | 8 |
| 3 | Turkey* | 5 | 3 | 2 | 324 | 325 | −1 | 8 |
| 4 | Japan* | 5 | 3 | 2 | 386 | 378 | +8 | 8 |
| 5 | Belarus | 5 | 1 | 4 | 347 | 361 | −14 | 6 |
| 6 | Brazil | 5 | 0 | 5 | 335 | 384 | −49 | 5 |
| 1 | United States* | 5 | 5 | 0 | 520 | 316 | +204 | 10 |
| 2 | Spain* | 4 | 3 | 1 | 314 | 273 | +41 | 7 |
| 3 | Canada* | 4 | 3 | 1 | 280 | 274 | +6 | 7 |
| 4 | Serbia* | 4 | 1 | 3 | 290 | 318 | −28 | 5 |
| 5 | China | 5 | 1 | 4 | 371 | 428 | −57 | 6 |
| 6 | Senegal | 4 | 0 | 4 | 221 | 387 | −166 | 4 |
Women's Results
United States 105, China 62
Tina Charles and Brittney Griner each scored 18 points as the United States concluded group play undefeated with a 105-62 win over China.
The U.S. clinched a Group B victory with the win. The team will play Group A fourth-place finisher Japan in the quarterfinals Tuesday.
Continuing a trend prevalent throughout these Games, the United States shot 62.2 percent on a series of shots near the rim thanks to some sterling ball movement. Forty of the 46 United States field goals were made via an assist.
Maya Moore, who had nine points and eight rebounds, led the way with eight dimes. Five U.S. women finished with at least five assists.
China made just 33.8 percent of its baskets, falling behind 32-9 after the first quarter and never recovering. Mengran Sun scored 16 points and Wen Lu added 14, but the 1-4 Chinese outfit had no chance against this U.S. team.
The United States finishes group play with a scoring margin of 204 points in five wins. Australia, undefeated in Group A, has outscored its opponents by 55.
Serbia 95, Senegal 88
Serbia had four starters in double figures, led by Sonja Petrovic's 20, as it moved into the knockout stage with a 95-88 win over Senegal.
The Serbs had already clinched advancement earlier in the day when China lost to the United States. But they showed no sign of letting up as they attempt to get into a good rhythm when they meet Australia in the first round.
Petrovic's 20 points and seven assists came on a night when Serbia hit half of its shots from the field. Jelena Milovanovic added 18 points and five boards, while Danielle Page and Ana Dabovic had 15 apiece.
This was the best showing of the event for Senegal, which lost all five of its games. Astou Traore scored a game-high 30 points, while Mbarika Fall (16 points), Aya Traore (12 points) and Fatou Dieng (11 points) were all in double figures.
Spain 73, Canada 60
Alba Torrens scored a game-high 20 points as one of three Spanish women in double figures as they clinched second place in Group B with a 73-60 win over Canada.
Torrens made six of her 12 shots from the field on a night that saw Spain shoot just 35 percent from the floor. Marta Xargay added 13 points off the bench, and Anna Cruz scored 10 for the 4-1 Spaniards.
Most of their damage was done at the free-throw line, with Spain holding a 27-11 advantage at the line. (Spain attempted 33 free throws, Canada 18.)
Nirra Fields had 13 points off the bench as the only Canadian in double figures. Canada turned the ball over 17 times, made just 1-of-11 from beyond the arc and assisted on just nine of its 24 buckets.
The big win here is that Spain gets to move to the opposite side of the bracket from the favored Americans. Canada will be forced into a rematch with the U.S. should it get past France in the knockout round. The U.S. defeated its northern brethren by 30 points in the knockout round.
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