U.S. men sleepwalk past Puerto Rico, but tough tests await in knockout round

VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France – The U.S. men’s basketball team looked like it had fallen into a collective slumber when its least-acclaimed member finally shook the group awake.

With little at stake against an overmatched opponent, the U.S. stumbled out of the gate against Puerto Rico in its third and final group stage game at the Olympics. Having locked up a spot in the quarterfinals, the Americans needed only to go through the motions against Puerto Rico, which was eliminated from the tournament after losing its first two games and had only one current NBA player, New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado, on its roster.

But going through the motions proved to be an arduous challenge for Team USA, which trailed Puerto Rico early in the second quarter before pulling away for a 104-83 blowout victory at Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Saturday. The U.S. team’s spark came from backup guard Derrick White, the only member of the 12-man roster who hasn’t been an NBA All-Star and whose presence at the Olympics was made possible only by the U.S. team’s decision to part ways with Kawhi Leonard after its Las Vegas training camp last month.

The 30-year-old White, fresh off winning a championship with the Boston Celtics in June, intercepted an inbounds pass after a dunk by Anthony Davis. The hustle play led to Kevin Durant hitting an open 3-pointer. Shortly thereafter, White found Anthony Edwards in the corner for a 3-pointer that re-energized an expectant crowd.

The United States is heavy on star power with Durant, LeBron James and Stephen Curry, but it will need unselfish passing and energetic defensive plays like the ones White delivered as it enters the knockout phase of the tournament. With the win over Puerto Rico, the United States won Group C with a 3-0 record and posted the highest opening-round point differential (plus-64, topping Germany’s plus-4) to clinch the No. 1 seed in the quarterfinals.

The U.S. will face Brazil, which went 1-2 in Group B, on Tuesday at Bercy Arena in Paris. The remaining quarterfinal matchups will be the winner of Serbia and Australia.

“Lille was incredible to us,” Durant said of the opening round host city, which sits near the Belgium border in northern France. “I loved being here. I’ve never been to this city and never thought I would come to a city like this. It was an incredible atmosphere. They showed us so much love.”

U.S. coach Steve Kerr used his third starting lineup of the opening round by deploying Curry, James, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker and Joel Embiid, as Jrue Holiday sat out because of a minor ankle injury. The group played even with Puerto Rico until midway through the first period, again raising questions about whether Kerr should consider using Durant, Edwards or Davis in his opening five.

Edwards finished with a game-high 26 points, leading six players in double figures. James had 10 points, six rebounds and eight assists, while Durant added 11 points off the bench. Alvarado led Puerto Rico with a team-high 18 points.

“We got done what we wanted to accomplish: winning all three games and securing the top seed,” Kerr said. “We know we have to play better. Part of this tournament is that it gets harder as you go, of course.”

Make no mistake, the U.S. men will face tougher tests in the knockout round. Canada (3-0) and Germany (3-0) played well in their opening-round games to win Group A and Group B, respectively, and their rosters are loaded with NBA talent.

Canada went undefeated in the “Group of Death” with wins over Australia, Greece and Spain. With NBA MVP runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at the helm, the Canadians showed excellent poise in late-game situations and their undersized front line held up against Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. While Jamal Murray has struggled to produce in limited minutes, Canada has received quality contributions from RJ Barrett, Dillon Brooks and Andrew Nembhard, among its other NBA players.

The Canadians, who are guided by new Brooklyn Nets coach Jordi Fernandez and play an isolation-heavy style, enjoy an added confidence boost thanks to their win over the United States in the bronze medal game of last year’s FIBA World Cup.

“We don’t want to lose,” Gilgeous-Alexander said Friday, adding that Canada was “absolutely” focused on claiming its first Olympic gold medal.

Meanwhile, Germany had perhaps the most impressive win of the opening round by claiming an 85-71 blowout win over Victor Wembanyama and France on Friday. Led by Dennis Schroder and Franz Wagner, the Germans boast a complete roster that includes a physical front line, quality wings and quick guards. Germany beat the United States in the semifinals and took gold in last year’s FIBA World Cup, and it handled France, Brazil and Japan in the group stage with ease.

Against France, Wagner outplayed Wembanyama to hush a raucous crowd in Lille that began the night jumping up and down in anticipation. The Germans remained tight-lipped about their medal chances following the victory, but France coach Vincent Collet credited their pressure defense for short-circuiting his team’s offense and flummoxing Wembanyama, who finished with 14 points.

Wembanyama “stopped the ball too much,” Collet said. “Against that kind of aggressiveness, you can’t play that way. You are never one-on-one because they come to double team, and there’s no space to operate. It’s important to move the ball.”

Collet added that the one-sided loss was cause for concern as France, under heavy pressure from its fans to win another Olympic medal, prepares to face Canada in the quarterfinals. France was the only team to beat the United States during the Tokyo Olympics before losing a rematch in the gold medal game to take silver.

“There’s a lot of great teams right now,” James said. “Obviously, Canada and Germany. I like the battle that Greece has had. … I wasn’t very impressed with (France’s) last game. I didn’t think they were ready for the physicality of Germany, but other than that they’ve been playing some good ball.”

The United States should consider itself fortunate if it lands on the opposite side of the knockout round bracket from Germany, Canada and France, as it has scored two blowout wins over Serbia this summer and has the size inside and on the wings to punish Australia.

As the Americans put the closing touches on their snoozer versus Puerto Rico, Edwards brought the crowd to its feet with a picture-perfect windmill dunk in transition.

The highlight felt like a reminder that the U.S.’extraordinary talent and athleticism was still there, even if it spent much of the night in hibernation.