That loss helped inspire the next wave of superstar Olympic teams, but after claiming the gold medal in 2008, and winning all but one of those games by at least 20 points, the Americans are already aware that the quest to stay at the top will not be easy. The United States shot just 40.8 percent, but with James leading a staunch defense that forced 26 turnovers, the Americans have to like their chances to claim another gold medal going forward.
After getting into a heated exchange with Varejao after Varejao hit him a little harder than he would’ve liked, Paul helped extend the lead to 13 when he knocked down a three-pointer and converted a three-point play. “Hard foul. That’s how it is in international ball,” Paul said, playing down the impact the encounter with Varejao. “I wasn’t thinking about him.”
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President Obama says he expects the U.S. Olympic men's basketball team to win the gold medal in London. The President watched the U.S. Team play Brazil in Washington Monday night.
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LeBron James scored 30 points and the U.S. men's Olympic basketball team rallied from an early 10-point deficit to beat Brazil 80-69 on Monday night.
Brazil would not back down, however, getting within six points on a Nene slam with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter before the Americans made another dramatic push. With the game essentially wrapped up, fans were again forced to turn their attention to the first couple as they again came up on the Kiss Cam.
The second time, however, the president would not be denied. He turned to his wife, leaned in and the couple locked lips. Their daughter, Malia, applauded as fans cheered.
“PDA is not for everybody, you know what I mean,” Bryant said with a laugh. “But he makes the important decisions, so it’s all good.”
Obama, who met with the U.S. team at halftime, left with a section of the crowd chanting, “Four more years!”
The United States scrimmaged in front of soldiers and participated in several community events throughout their three days in town. The left immediately after the game for Manchester, England, where the players will train for two days before playing Britain on Thursday in an exhibition.
“We think this is a team that is going to be fighting for a medal, Brazil. We were impressed with them, but it was good to take the shot and bounce back. It was a good learning experience for us,” USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo said. “It was great. I think it’s time for us, after all the stuff that we had to do, it’s time to get on a plane and go to work.”
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