Team USA completed their second to last exhibition game prior to the World Championships this evening in Madrid, Spain, against the hometown Spanish National Team. The country the Americans (though a completely different squad) defeated in 2008 to win the Olympic Gold Medal in Beijing came out hungry for revenge but their effort wasn’t good enough to overcome the new look USA squad that came away with a 86-85 victory.
At the beginning of the contest, Team USA looked like it was going to blowout Spain after getting out to a great start and getting their lead up to 12. However, Spain fought back and even though they only lead by two points (and even that was just for a few seconds) during the whole game, they came very close to beating the Americans.
Spain did take the lead in the final two minutes of the game but clutch performances by Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant provided extra fuel for Team USA and they were able to complete the victory. Rose was engineering the offense late and in pick and rolls with Durant, he was finding the outside shooters. This play wasn’t working, though, because Lamar Odom was the corner shooter and he isn’t a very effective shooter from long range.
Team USA learned from the mistake, though, instead putting Durant in the corner and making Odom the screen setter. The result was a clearer path to the basket for Rose because nobody was going to leave Durant open. Derrick put his head down, got into the paint and finished a pretty lay-up with Marc Gasol‘s 285-pound frame all over him. Spain answered that bucket with one of their own and again put Team USA down one. They responded by going with Rose in the pick and roll again and Gasol had no choice but to foul Derrick this time around.
After Rose made both free throws, Spain had one last possession to win it. Team USA went to the zone for just the second time in the game and it worked. Ricky Rubio was unable to penetrate into the lane, so he had to settle for a three-point attempt that Kevin Durant blocked. After some commotion underneath the basket, the Spaniards came up with the rebound and Rudy Fernandez received the ball in a position to hit the game winning three. The problem? Durant was there, again, and blocked his shot as the buzzer sounded. Durant took a minute to admire his work, he had previously had an incident with Marc Gasol in which he told him to watch himself so no doubt he was pleased with his work, and his teammates swarmed him in celebration.
“I just wanted to cover a much ground as I could and help my teammates out,” Durant said. “I saw Ricky Rubio open in the corner and I just wanted to use my length to get out there and tip the shot and I was able to get a finger on it and I had the ball and it kind of slipped out of my hand and Rubio got it back and threw it to Fernandez and I just didn’t want to jump and get a foul on a three-point shot so I stayed down and kind of timed it pretty well and I was fortunate enough to get a block and the game was over. I just wanted to do something to help my team win.”
Durant had his first big game of the summer, coming after I questioned whether or not he was having a rough time adjusting to the pressure. He sure answered that question with his 25 points (on nine-of-16 shooting with three three’s) and 10 rebounds. Durant had his jumper going for the first time against international competition and it looked pretty. Whenever Spain got close to Team USA, Durant was likely responding with an 18-foot jumper. It was those moments where Durant, calm, cool and collected, made it clear he was the leader of this team. This may have been an exhibition game, but this was Spain, the favorite to win the Worlds, and Durant had little trouble assassinating them with a collection of jumpers.
“I think we made key plays down the stretch and we also played together as a team and stuck together through tough times,” Kevin continued. “So it was a good test for us and I’m glad we moved past it.”
Derrick Rose missed seven of his 12 shots and turned it over five times compared to three assists but he made his baskets when it counted. After engaging in somewhat of a battle with Ricky Rubio, who stripped him once, it was Rose that shined down the stretch with a clutch drive and the game clinching free throws while Rubio had a costly turnover as he tried to make a behind-the-back pass and was confused on the final possession of the game before getting blocked by Durant. Rose was a reason Team USA got off to a hot start and because of his play today he may have earned the starting spot from Rajon Rondo.
“This is something I’m never going to forget … never,” Rose said. “I’ll remember this as right now when I’m building up my legacy in this league. This is something I will never forget, some of the fans will never forget. My mom, my family, this is definitely a memorable moment right now.”
Speaking of Rondo, he, Danny Granger and Kevin Love did not play today. Based on prior experiences, some would consider this a sign that one of these guys is getting cut but it may just be the opposite.
“(Stephen) Curry has been out so we wanted to give him a chance and we already know what Rondo and Granger can do, and Love was out,” Coach K said of his line-ups after the game. “The doctor wanted to keep him out because of hitting his head and because it’s back-to-back, so that was a precaution. That was our plan tonight, just to take a better look at our team.
So, instead of those guys being cut, it may just be a guarantee that they are making it seeing that Coach K said he knows what Rondo/Granger can do. Kevin Love has been hurt and hit his head on the court yesterday. Additionally, even if he was healthy, he wouldn’t play much as he is currently filling the Carlos Boozer role from 2008 as the emergency big man.
Another standout from this game was Russell Westbrook. Westbrook was great in yesterday’s game and he was good again tonight. As soon as Spain checked in Ricky Rubio, Westbrook was the guy that Coach K called on to guard him. He finished with eight points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal. Westbrook’s emergence during these two exhibitions in Spain likely means that he will not be cut and that either Eric Gordon or Stephen Curry will be going home. Curry played seven minutes tonight while Gordon played two.
Team USA will have one more chance to give these two a chance to showcase their abilities as well an opportunity for the team to grow closer together before the Worlds start this Wednesday as they travel to Greece to play one more exhibition game.
