In their rematch against Venezuela, the United States fared better than they did in the exhibition match, when they had the better of Venezuela with a 35-point lead. This time around, Team USA demolished the South Americans with a 54-point lead, to register their second consecutive win in Group A at Rio 2016. Moreover, this was the US's fifth consecutive win in five encounters against Venezuela.

Naturally, expectations of a win were sky high for the US, who were coming from a superlative victory over Asian minnows, China, in their opening group game last Saturday. Remarkably, they were unselfish against China as 31 assists were recorded while the bench contributed with many assists and goals. Last but not least, they boast a smart Paul George who is having the time of his life in Rio. 

On the other hand, Venezuela were projected to struggle against the States, especially when off-possession, as the US are skillful in handling the ball and roaming it around the court. 

Unconvicing USA, aggressive Venezuela

The first half saw the United States emerging on top with a scoreline of 45-24 over Venezuela. Yet, the South Americans were much more composed and aggressive in their approach, keeping their opponents in sight for much of the tie, until Carmelo Anthony restored USA's dominance in the contest. In fact, his contribution in the first half with 10 points, saw him leapfrog Michael Jordan at 3rd place on the US men's Olympic scoring list.

It was a cold start for the US, as Venezuela kept on prompting, registering consecutive field points while the Americans relied only on free throws. It was interesting to underline the contrast between Venezuela's center Gregory Econique and Golden State Warriors' latest addition Kevin Durant, who were continuosly battling out each other. Despite weighing 120 kg, Econique was pretty much at the heart of Venezuela's actions alongside the talented John Cox. A sloppy USA tied the first quarter 18-18, with Venezuela levelling matters with two seconds left after Jimmy Butler fouled Gregory Vargas

USA were outworked in the first half and probably, the summary of their match was the awful three-pointer try from Klay Thompson, which went far wide from the basket. Venezuela successfully managed to slow down the US's manouver but all was to change in the following quarter. 

In the second quarter, the US started to find their foot in the game, courtesy of some sensational stuff from Anthony, DeAndre Jordan and Kyle Irving. They had to wait until the final seven minutes of the tie, to wake up and start play as real favourites. In fact, they finished the final seven minutes with a breathtaking scoreline of 24-4, with Durant grabbing 11 , Anthony 10 and Butler nine points.

Unlike in the first quarter, the US managed to capitalise on a couple of turnovers and also managed to defend much more better, without rushing on their opponents and leaving tons of spaces to exploit. 

Paul George on fire

After the interval, Venezuela looked like they remained in the locker room, as the US started to flourish points left, right and centre. However, there was still a concern in Team USA, as Klay Thompson was struggling to get on the scoresheet and even in his game, he looked pretty off. Chicago Bulls' Butler looked much more in shape throughout the match, and probably he is making his case to start over Thompson against the Aussies on Saturday. 

Throughout the third quarter, the match was quiet, with the US passing the ball around while Venezuela, trying to steal the ball and catch the US on a break, striving to attain a respectable result. After the first three quarters, the duo Durant-Anthony ended at 18 and 14 points respectively. 

During the following quarter, it was all about Paul George. The Indiana Pacers guard was a joy to watch, as he gave the US tempo, pace, assists and also goals. He registered an impressive tally of 18 points and he was pretty much on top of his game. He also managed to record a couple of successful turnovers, extending the lead for the US to a convincing 54-point lead. 

Next commitments

Next up for the United States is Australia on Wednesday. Australia are enjoying a flying start in Group A as they saw off both France and Serbia in their opening couple of fixtures.

Meanwhile, minnows Venezuela will be crossing swords with the other worst-ranked team in the group, China, hoping to earn their first points at Rio 2016.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Gianluca Lia
Gianluca Lia (Birzebbuga, 30/01/1996) is a sport journalist since 2014. Graduated in Bachelor of Communications (General) in the University of Malta. Media contributor within the Women's Department at the Malta Football Association since March 2015 and sports writer for Malta's leading newspaper, Times of Malta (Allied Newspapers Limited) since February 2017. Contributes as a freelancer on international platforms as well, on VAVEL UK, VAVEL US, MLSSoccerItalia, Into The Calderon (SB Nation) and Twice A Cosmo (SB Nation).