In their third and final group C match of the preliminary round in Lille, the overwhelming favorites, the United States, continued their relentless march toward a seventeenth Olympic basketball championship with an even more resounding victory (83-104), this time over Puerto Rico, which was eliminated from the Paris 2024 tournament.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anthony Edwards was the top performance on this new “Dream Team,” which was going for a fifth straight gold medal despite having a star-studded roster. He finished as the game’s best scorer with a total of 26 points in a game that the United States won only by exerting maximum pressure in the second quarter.

In place of Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid—who had not played a minute against South Sudan—returned to the starting lineup, joining the unstoppable LeBron, Curry, Devin Booker, and Jason Tatum. Embiid strengthened the lineup under the direction of Steve Kerr, a coach whose nine NBA championship rings, four as a coach (with Golden State), put him on par with, if not above, the players on his squad.

LeBron James equaled Durant, Curry, and Tatum’s eight points. But with twelve points in the first half, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards—who turns twenty-three on Monday—was the most productive player of the half. Edwards is laying claim among the greats, and his future looks bright.

In addition to being the game’s top scorer at the buzzer, Edwards, who aspires to sit at the elite table of basketball players, concluded with 26 points and the highest player efficiency rating of 25. Alvarado led Puerto Rico in scoring with eighteen points, while Romero had the highest player efficiency rating (20).

Team USA paced themselves and ended the third quarter with a 28-point lead following a robust second-quarter run.

Following Edwards’ outstanding performance, the United States easily won the game by ‘just’ 21 points (83-104) although Puerto Rico pulled ahead in the last quarter. They will now wait for their next foe at the Paris Bercy venue on Wednesday.