ATHENS, Greece -- Their best player had fouled out, their best guard was nursing a broken thumb, and Greece had a chance to pull within two points with 18 seconds left.
Lamar Odom defended the play perfectly for the Americans, keeping his hand high and preventing Dimitris Pipanikoulaou from getting a clean layup attempt. Odom rebounded the miss and made two free throws to lock up the U.S. team's 77-71 victory today in its second game of the Olympics.
In a much closer contest than expected, the Americans bounced back from their embarrassing loss to Puerto Rico in their opener and avoided dropping to 0-2, which would have matched their loss total from the previous 68 years.
The U.S. team got the win because of big plays from Odom and Carlos Boozer down the stretch after Tim Duncan had fouled out and Allen Iverson -- playing despite a broken thumb -- cooled off following a strong start.
The game was a spectacle in many ways, from the Greek fans waving blue and white flags to U.S. coach Larry Brown angrily gesturing at the referees. A close game such as this was rare in previous Olympics, but now it appears to be something the Americans should get used to.
Iverson scored 17 points, 13 of them in the first half, and Duncan had 13 of his 14 points in a third quarter in which he picked up three fouls, setting the stage for a tight fourth quarter.
HoustonChronicle.com - U.S. men defeat Greece in hoops