The United States were victorious 95-81 despite a valiant 38-point effort from Spain’s Ricky Rubio. Spain had a 10 point lead late in the second quarter when the United States came roaring back.
“We drove it to the rim at the end of the second and were able to get our rhythm back a little bit,” said Durant, who ended up with 29 points. “I like how we played from the end of the second quarter all the way up to finish the game and that’s how winners play ball.”
The Saitama Super Arena north of Tokyo was the fullest it has been so far in these spectatorless Games, as athletes, officials and volunteers gathered for what would have been a hot-ticket match.
The United States will move on to the semifinals on Thursday to face the winner of the quarterfinal between Australia and…
