The teams of two, dressed identically down to the Asics sneakers, push yellow dust mops up and down the court, mirroring one another. After finishing their trips around the floor, they pause under the basket and, in totally synchronicity, bow.
Every timeout, every halftime of the tournament looks exactly the same.
Now this is the kind of consistency the American men’s basketball team would love to have.
Instead, they’ll have to settle for the highs — the stretches where the best players in the world play like the best team in the world. Led by Kevin Durant, they had enough of those moments Saturday to beat the Czech Republic 119-84 and assure themselves a spot in the quarterfinals.
Tokyo Olympics Coverage
They’ll know their opponent for the knockout round when men’s pool play finishes Sunday.
Durant scored 23 points on eight-of-11 shooting Saturday, keying a quick turnaround after a rocky first quarter against the Czech team, which has one active NBA player in Bulls guard Tomas Satoransky.
He also because the all-time leading scorer for the American men’s team in Olympic play, moving past Carmelo Anthony with a three-point shot in the second quarter.
Boston’s Jayson Tatum led the Americans with 27 points.
After losing to France to open the Olympics, the U.S. has won games by 54 and 35 points, assuring that it will avoid having to open the medal rounds against one of the top-seeded teams after group play.
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