The US Olympic Basketball team are officially moving on the knock out rounds. With the win against the Czech Republic, they finish 2-1 in group play. Due to the loss against France, they cannot win the group, but will be moving on regardless.

First Quarter

The Czech Republic jumped out to 10-2 lead only two minutes into the game. The Czech team beat Canada to qualify for the Olympics at a tournament in Canada, and that team had 8 NBA players on it. The timeout did not seem to help very much as the Czech’s kept going. Blake Schilb had three three points in the quarter. Zach Lavine had a great shot while he was plastered by Schlib. Damian Lillard made a three to close the gap 21-18. The Czech Republic needed to take a timeout. They finished well and had the lead 25-18. The Czechs are known for strong first quarters. 

Second Quarter

The second quarter was much more contested. Bulls teammates Thomas Satoransky and Zach Lavine had a series where they went back and forth at each other. Kevin Durant officially became the all time leading men’s scorer in USA basketball history passing Carmello Anthony. After that, he drilled another three to make it an 8-0 run and the Czech’s wanted time to talk about it. The US countered with a timeout when the gap was closed to two. Both teams near the end of the quarter went cold from shooting range. The US had the lead at halftime 47-43. 

Third Quarter

Lillard had a three to get things started. Durant took a hit to the face but appeared to be okay. Jrue Holiday scored next and the Czech’s took a timeout 55-47. The Czech’s didn’t go away and had some great ball movement. Draymond Green kept up his perfect shooting streak. Durant also became the all time USA basketball male free throw leader, which also passed Melo. A buzzer beater three from Durant gave the US the lead 82-60 and they finished the quarter on a 16-2 run. 

Fourth Quarter

Jayson Tatum got rolling and expanded the lead. Schlib disappeared due to good defense by the US. Tatum finished the game with 27 points after getting hot in the quarter. It didn’t take long to realize that the game was pretty much over. Finally, 119-84 was the final as the US Olympic Basketball team will officially contend for a medal again. 

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