Cavs Board

“That’s it Kobe. That’s it Kobe. Play ball.”

That what you heard from Lebron James standing across form Kobe Bryant at the foul at the 3 minute mark of the first quarter when Kobe was at the line shouting with what I can only assume was Luis Scola or any other Argentinean who had rubbed him wrong, saying something close to “I’m gonna show you some english”.  At that point the game was close.

The Argentineans came out rubbing guys on screens, shoving guys just to disrupt inbounds plays, and just being the general nuisances you would expect from a team led by renowned flopper Manu Ginobli (who made a brief appearance in the first half and then was not seen again). The Americans weathered the initial emotional burst of the Argentineans to blow open the lead with some timely steals, some transition baskets, and then a barrage of three pointers, many of which came as the result of crisp passes around the perimeter. By the end of the first quarter, the team lead 30-11.

But from there, foul trouble towards the end of the first half saw the lead trimmed all the way to 6 (46-40) before getting three free throws to end the first half in the lead 49-40. The Americans outside shooting went cold and the Argentineans went to the line A LOT and got some effective low post scoring.

The second half started out completely differently. Some of Lebron. Some of Carmelo. Some of Kobe. And a lot less shooting from deep. The Americans blew the lead back open, picking up a flagrant foul and a technical foul on Andres Nocioni in the process.

At one point Lebron had two three-pointers, and a slashing left handed layup in succession to finish second on the team in scoring with 15 points. That went along with 5 rebounds and 2 assists, but the player of the game was Carmelo Anthony, who despite a poor shooting night got to the line for 13 free throws, converting all of them. He finished with 21 points and 4 board. Chris Bosh had a monster game as well scoring 11 points, but adding 10 rebounds (4 offensive).

The Argentineans were clearly frustrated and unable to overcome the loss of Ginobli. Luis Scola played incredibly, finishing with 28 points, but from the middle of the third quarter on, the Americans continued to distance themselves and held off Argentina to win 101-81.

Next up is the rematch with Spain.