USA vs. Argentina: Score and Reaction from 2016 Olympic Men's Basketball

Argentina stunned the United States in the 2004 Summer Olympics, but the Americans were not about to let history repeat itself Wednesday at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. 

The United States overcame a slow start and handled Argentina in the quarterfinals with an overwhelming 105-78 victory. Four different Americans scored in double figures, but it was Kevin Durant who proved to be an impossible matchup. He finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and six assists, drilling nine of 13 shots from the field and seven of nine three-pointers.

Paul George also stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, eight rebounds, three steals and three blocks, while DeMarcus Cousins (15 points) and Kyrie Irving (11 points) chipped in with timely scoring.

As for Argentina, Luis Scola posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Manu Ginobili added 14 points and seven assists. Facundo Campazzo directed the offense and perimeter defense alongside those notable NBA players, contributing 13 points, nine assists and four steals. 

Despite the easy win for the United States and the fact that it is a powerhouse with a collection of NBA All-Stars, Argentina controlled the early tempo and jumped out to a 14-7 lead in the first quarter. Carmelo Anthony also picked up two quick fouls, as the overall team defense was nowhere to be found.

Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press pointed to the initial issues on that end:

Argentina extended the advantage to double digits at 19-9 behind the playmaking of Campazzo, but Durant led a 16-2 charge for the Americans to end the first quarter. The newest Golden State Warrior scored 13 points and dished out four assists in the opening 10 minutes and had the United States ahead 25-21 heading into the second. 

The Americans carried that momentum over and used the locked-in defense of George and Jimmy Butler, the post presence of Cousins, and the continued scoring of Durant to build a double-digit lead at 33-21. Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated suggested the United States may have "finally found" its best lineup with Durant, Butler, George, Cousins and Kyle Lowry. 

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski dipped into his bench, but the defensive pressure that was missing in the opening few minutes (and the last two games against France and Serbia) continued throughout the second quarter. A three by Lowry extended the advantage to a commanding 54-29 with less than three minutes until halftime and was the exclamation point in the turnaround.

Argentina showed some fight with an 11-2 run to end the half, but it was still down by an imposing 16 points at 56-40. Durant also surpassed basketball loyalty with his 18 first-half points, per NBA on ESPN:

The United States once again had an answer for Argentina's spurt and opened the third quarter with a 15-7 run following an and-1 from Anthony to push the lead back to 71-47. The Americans simply had too much length, athleticism and depth for their opponent and appeared to turn on a switch every time Argentina threatened to climb back to within striking distance.

Sean Deveney of Sporting News noticed a difference in the Americans' approach:

"

Easily most emotion Team USA has shown in any game in Rio. It's like they finally get what Coach K's been saying, it's not going to be easy.

— Sean Deveney (@SeanDeveney) August 17, 2016"

That effort (and Durant's red-hot shooting from three-point range) led to an essentially unbeatable 87-61 lead through three quarters. Argentina received a mere seven points from its bench through the first 30 minutes compared to 36 for the United States, which was not a sustainable formula for the challengers with Durant going off as well.

Argentina never threatened in the final quarter, and the only remaining drama revolved around how big the final deficit would be. However, Argentina did get one more opportunity to send out a fivesome that made plenty of Olympic memories together, as Rodger Sherman of SB Nation noted:

Marc Stein of ESPN said the Argentine stars received a proper send-off:

Despite the crowd support, Argentina couldn't match the United States on either end of the floor, as the victors put it on cruise control and finished out the 105-78 victory.

What's Next?

Next up for the Americans is a date with Spain in the semifinals on Friday. The two basketball powers squared off in the past two gold-medal contests, with the United States winning each of them. 

Spain lost its first two games in group play in Rio but has looked like a formidable threat since with four straight wins. It was particularly impressive in Wednesday's 92-67 quarterfinals win over France, which features NBA players such as Tony Parker, Boris Diaw, Rudy Gobert and Nicolas Batum.

What's more, Spain received a mere five points from Pau Gasol against France, as Nikola Mirotic led the way with 23 points. If Gasol plays up to his capabilities as a future Hall of Famer and the supporting cast provides the offensive spark it did Wednesday, the United States will have arguably its biggest test of the Olympics.

It looked up for the challenge on Wednesday as it picked apart Argentina. 

Postgame Reaction

Much of the discussion after the game centered around the legacy of Ginobili on the Argentina national team. He talked about his journey, per Tom Withers of the Associated Press:

"

I'm proudest of that. The longevity, the way we played the game, all the things we accomplished, the friendships and the camaraderie we created. This year is the 20th year since my first game with the national team, so I'm very proud and at the same time I'm sad and happy because having an opportunity to play this game at 39, it's not something that happens often.

I'm incredibly lucky to have stayed healthy and stayed with some of the same guys for so long. I'm very proud of it.

"

Ginobili earned the respect of Anthony, per Withers:

"

I know what he means not just to basketball in Argentina but to the country as a whole. He's put in a lot of work and he has represented them in a great fashion. He's put that country on his back over the years and I just told him, "Thank you," especially for me playing against him over the past four Olympics. I just wanted to say, "Thank you."

"

With Ginobili and Argentina now in the rearview mirror, the Americans will turn their attention to Spain. Krzyzewski said, per Mahoney: “We haven’t watched them yet. We know who they are.”

At this point, Spain may be the United States’ biggest threat for a gold medal at these Games.