By Gary D’Amato, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel –
LONDON — There’s nothing like a little international intrigue and a punch in the groin to liven up the men’s basketball tournament at the Olympic Games.
First, there were whispers that Spain tanked its preliminary round group B game against Brazil to avoid facing the United States until the gold medal game.
(PHOTO: USA’s Chris Paul (13) passes the ball to teammate Kevin Love (11) after avoiding Argentina’s Juan Gutierrez (9) during their game at the Olympic Park Basketball Arena during the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, England, Monday, August 6, 2012. USA defeated Argentina 126-97.)
Later, in the preliminary group A game, Argentine guard Facundo Campazzo emptied the benches when he struck the United States’ Carmelo Anthony in an, ahem, sensitive area.
Anthony had just hit a three-pointer to close out the Americans’ sensational 42-point third quarter when an obviously frustrated Campazzo delivered the shot heard ‘round London.
“Look at the tape,” said U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski. “(Anthony) got hit in the groin. That’s why he buckled over. He wasn’t celebrating his shot.”
It was a wild night at the Basketball Arena, with Brazil outscoring Spain, 31-16, in the fourth quarter to pull out an 88-82 victory and the Americans taking care of business after another slow start, 126-97.
The U.S. (5-0) next faces Australia (3-2) in the quarterfinals Wednesday. If the Americans win as expected, they’ll face the winner of Brazil (4-1) vs. Argentina (3-2) in the semifinals Friday.
In the other bracket, Spain (3-2) plays France (4-1), and Russia (4-1) faces Lithuania (2-3). The winners would meet in the semifinals for the chance to (likely) play the U.S. for gold.
The talk after the first game was Spain’s mysterious disappearing act against Brazil, which trailed, 44-38, at halftime.
“They are thinking of the (final) without trying to get through the quarters first and that’s their problem,” said Brazil’s Alex Garcia. “They are underestimating France in assuming they are going to win against France and then play the USA in the (final).
“It’s very presumptuous of them. We are only thinking of winning. We don’t come to the Olympics thinking of choosing the opponents.”
The Spanish players bristled at questions that they had thrown the game.
“That is not our team,” said Jose Calderon. “That is not how we play. We always play to win. Always. There have been some situations before when some teams have tried to avoid us and we don’t like that.
“We’re in the Olympics and you have to try to win every game.”
The nightcap, U.S. vs. Argentina, was only shrouded in mystery until halftime, when the Americans turned a tight 60-59 game into a laugher.
LeBron James exerted his will in the post, and Kevin Durant sent the U.S. bench into a frenzy with an unconscious display of three-point shooting, scoring 17 points in the third quarter as the Americans pulled away to an easy victory.
The first half was another story. The Argentine fans were waving flags and singing “Ole!” as Manu Ginobili made two free throws to cut the Americans’ lead to 60-59 just before halftime.
Asked what the Americans learned on this night, Durant said, “That we can be beat if we don’t come out and play the way we’re supposed to play. We can’t always turn it on in the third quarter. It was a good lesson for us.”
Durant finished with 28 points and James, encouraged by Krzyzewski to “take over the game” in the second half, added 18.
“We’re a great shooting team but in a close game sometimes you’ve got to go down and get some easy ones,” said James, who posted up and scored on three consecutive possessions. “Once you get a couple easy ones at the rim, then the three-point opens up. You saw what K.D. was able to do.”
Campazzo claimed after the game that U.S. guard Chris Paul had taken a swing at him.
“Which time?” Paul said. “We got tangled up 1,000 times. It happens over the course of the game. It’s a hard-fought game.”
Less fuzzy was Campazzo hitting Anthony in front of the Americans’ bench.
“We all saw it,” said Tyson Chandler. “That was a cheap shot and you obviously never want to see that in a game. So that was the reaction you saw.”
Cooler heads prevailed and the rest of the game was played without incident.
“Tonight’s game was so much fun,” Paul said. “So much fun. I give Argentina a lot of credit. Those guys pushed us. They made us compete. It got a little chippy in there and that gets you excited.”
Argentina’s Luis Scola stated the obvious when he said the Americans would be tough to beat in the semifinals, should the Argentines get past Brazil.
“Nothing is impossible,” he said, “but this team is pretty good.”