The United States’ men’s basketball team had already clinched their berth in the quarterfinals of the Olympic tournament by virtue of their wins against Serbia and South Sudan during the Group Phase. They close that portion of the tournament with a 104–83 win over Puerto Rico.
Unfortunately for Puerto Rico, coming in 0–2 in the tournament meant they had no chance of advancing to the quarterfinals. They also had no chance of beating the United States, despite this being the final game of their Olympics.
The United States needed to score only 56 points to be the top-scoring team in the entire Olympic field over three games. The United States had scored 213 points and had a plus-43 differential. Puerto Rico, meanwhile, came into the game having been outscored by 52 points in their losses to Serbia and South Sudan (197–145).
Kevin Durant came into the game leading the United States and tied for eighth in the entire Olympic field, averaging 18.5 points per game. His 71.4 shooting percentage from the field was the best of any player averaging better than 10 points per game in the tournament. And he was doing it coming off the bench.
The United States was without guard Jrue Holiday, who suffered an ankle injury against South Sudan and was ruled out before the game. However, after not appearing in the previous game, Joel Embiid was back in the starting lineup. Jayson Tatum also started the game for the United States after not appearing in the first game of the tournament.
Tatum got off to a hot start, hitting his first three shots from the field, including a dunk to open the scoring. Steph Curry struggled to find his offense against South Sudan but he was hot early as well, knocking down his first two shots as well.
Puerto Rico hung around, though. A deep three from Jose Alvarado tied the game at 17 and then a tip in from Arnaldo Toro gave them a two-point lead. The United States made their wholesale lineup changes but Puerto Rico responded by knocking down two three-pointers to take an eight-point lead off an 11–0 run that forced USA coach Steve Kerr to take a timeout.
Durant, Bam Adebayo, Anthony Davis, Derrick White, and Anthony Davis came off the bench and watched Puerto Rico score eight quick points before the timeout. But Edwards knocked down a deep two from the corner out of the timeout to give a little momentum back to the United States. Adebayo followed with a dunk in traffic to cut the lead to four.
Puerto Rico answered with a five-point run before Edwards beat the buzzer to get the United States within five. This was the first time the United States trailed at the end of a quarter in the tournament. Puerto Rico took advantage of mistakes and out-scored the United States 8–4 off turnovers in the opening 10 minutes. And, while the bench had been a strength for the United States, Puerto Rico’s reserves outscored the U.S. bench 13–8 in the first quarter. Six of those eight points were from Edwards.
Between quarters, the officials reviewed a shot that had been credited as a three-pointer for Puerto Rico and determined it was a two, so the United States got a little help with the lead becoming four without any basketball being played. The score was now, officially, 29–26 in favor of Puerto Rico.
After an Adebayo free throw cut the game to three, Davis went to work. He blocked a shot on the defensive end and was rewarded with a dunk. He then grabbed a rebound after White stole the inbound pass and found Durant for a deep three to give the United States a 31–29 lead. That 6–0 run brought a timeout from Puerto Rico in hopes of slowing the momentum. It worked, as Alvarado hit a two to tie the game.
Edwards stayed hot from the field and hit another three for the United States. The combination of Durant and Edwards started to roll and the United States was beginning to own the glass. Durant checked out after a made three that gave the United States a 41–37 lead. Edwards then checked out after making one of two free throws, leaving with a team-leading 12 points in 8:23 on the floor.
The United States began bringing their starting unit back into the game one by one with a seven-point lead after two free throws from Anthony Davis. But Puerto Rico took advantage of the changes and made two quick buckets to cut the score to 44–41 in the middle of the second quarter. That run brought another timeout from Kerr.
An Embiid lay-in and a Curry three pushed the lead up to eight and the defensive effort from the United States looked improved after the timeout. Embiid added another bucket to make the lead 10 and the rebounding edge was increasingly favoring the United States.
LeBron James started to assert himself on both ends of the floor. He hit two free throws and then scored on a putback dunk that Curry left for him off the glass and the game was sprinting away from Puerto Rico. A traditional three-point play from Booker made the lead 15 with 62 seconds left before the half.
Two more free throws from Booker made the lead 16 and another dunk from LeBron extended it to 19 in a hurry. The United States closed the half leading 64–45 and outscored Puerto Rico 16-2 in the final 3:14 of the opening 20 minutes.
The box score was incredibly balanced for the United States at the half. Edwards led the team with 12 points while LeBron, Durant, Curry, and Tatum had eight each. Booker had seven as well. Tatum led the United States with six rebounds while LeBron led the way with six assists.
Alvarado led Puerto Rico with 12 in the first half. And the bench scoring that favored Puerto Rico 13–8 in the first quarter? It was 27–16 in favor of the United States after two quarters.
The second half got off to a sloppy start. It took 99 seconds for either team to score; Alvarado ended the drought with a two before Booker answered with a layup. When LeBron was called for a foul with 7:02 left in the third quarter, only four points had been scored. And Ismael Romero missed the two subsequent free throws to continue the offensive struggles.
Romero fouled Embiid, who hit both free throws before Romero answered with a layup on the other end. A dunk from LeBron followed by a three from Embiid extended the lead before Alvarado hit a three. A Romero made layup led to a U.S. timeout in the middle of the third quarter.
The United States brought in their second unit and immediately went on a 7–0 run, punctuated by a three from Edwards that led Puerto Rico to take a timeout. The U.S. lead was up to 81–54 with 3:07 left in the third quarter.
Tyrese Haliburton checked into the game for the first time with 28 seconds left in the third before Edwards made a driving layup. Stephen Thompson, Jr. hit a three for Puerto Rico as the clock expired on a period dominated by the United States.
Through 30 minutes, the United States was credited with 26 assists on 33 made field goals. Edwards (19), Durant (11). Embiid (11) and LeBron (10) led the balanced scoring for the Americans, who enjoyed a 28-point lead heading to the fourth quarter.
A steal by Edwards led to a windmill dunk that got the crowd—and his teammates—their feet early in the fourth.
Two free throws from Tatum with 4:08 left in regulation put the USA at 100 points for the game. The United States continued to play aggressive defense despite the game being out of reach for Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico was limited to nine points in the final four minutes of the game and the United States rolled to a big win.
Edwards finished with a game-high 26 points and Embiid produced 15 as the United States had six players in double figures. Tatum had 10 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double.
Alvarado led Puerto Rico with 18 points and Romero had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The United States clinched the top seed in the quarterfinals with the win.
