LAS VEGAS, Sept. 1 -- Carmelo Anthony's international basketball experience has been filled with more heartache than glistening hardware. He's been part of the past two bronze medal finishes in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, where he was subject to criticism from then-coach Larry Brown, and the 2006 world championships in Japan.
Anthony has made the most of this third go-round, though, in the FIBA Americas Championship, leading the United States into next summer's Beijing Olympics by scoring a game-high 27 points in a 135-91 victory over Puerto Rico on Saturday at Thomas & Mack Center.
The United States will face Argentina for the gold medal on Sunday.
"To go back to 2004, we as a country had that memory in the back of our mind," Anthony said. "We know what's at stake, what's our goal -- to not only win this tournament that we're playing in right now, but to win that medal, to go get the gold medal. I think we're heading toward the right direction, we're on the right path."
The United States wanted to do more than just qualify here; it wanted to dominate. Against a field of teams much weaker than most of those it will face in China, the Americans got the job done, winning the first nine games by an average of 39.7 points.
After leading by 15 points at halftime against Puerto Rico, the Americans had a dizzying and explosive half, scoring 78 points and taking advantage of the Puerto Rican zone defense to shoot 16 for 20 (80 percent) from three-point range. Overall, the Americans shot 70 percent from the floor, 64 percent from three-point range and recorded the country's third-highest point total in 91 international games.
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Anthony has made the most of this third go-round, though, in the FIBA Americas Championship, leading the United States into next summer's Beijing Olympics by scoring a game-high 27 points in a 135-91 victory over Puerto Rico on Saturday at Thomas & Mack Center.
The United States will face Argentina for the gold medal on Sunday.
"To go back to 2004, we as a country had that memory in the back of our mind," Anthony said. "We know what's at stake, what's our goal -- to not only win this tournament that we're playing in right now, but to win that medal, to go get the gold medal. I think we're heading toward the right direction, we're on the right path."
The United States wanted to do more than just qualify here; it wanted to dominate. Against a field of teams much weaker than most of those it will face in China, the Americans got the job done, winning the first nine games by an average of 39.7 points.
After leading by 15 points at halftime against Puerto Rico, the Americans had a dizzying and explosive half, scoring 78 points and taking advantage of the Puerto Rican zone defense to shoot 16 for 20 (80 percent) from three-point range. Overall, the Americans shot 70 percent from the floor, 64 percent from three-point range and recorded the country's third-highest point total in 91 international games.
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
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