The U.S. was so dominant in group play the only drama was which NBA superstar collected a DNP.
An ankle injury to Jrue Holiday removed that suspense Saturday as the Americans bulldozed Puerto Rico, 100-74, easily clinching the top seed in the knockout round and a quarterfinal matchup against Brazil.
The Americans needed only to win by 5 to clear Germany for the top seed, and that seemed inevitable by halftime against the tiny commonwealth island.
The second half, highlighted by an Anthony Edwards windmill jam, was a breeze to the final buzzer.
Edwards was the star with 26 points on 11 of 15 shooting, taking control of the offense while future Hall of Famers Steph Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Durant took a backseat.
“Hell yeah, hell yeah (it felt good),” Edwards said on NBC. “They’re top-3 of the greatest players ever. So the fact that they were letting me put on a show, it shows a lot. Shows their character that they’re willing to do anything to win the game.”
.Otherwise, American scoring was balanced with double digits from LeBron, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid, Durant and Anthony Davis.
Durant also grabbed four boards to surpass Carmelo Anthony as U.S. Basketball’s all-time leading rebounder.
“It’s cool to do that type of stuff but we’re trying to get this gold,” Durant told NBC.
After Tatum and Embiid didn’t play in games 1 and 2, respectively, coach Steve Kerr swapped out his entire starting lineup in the first quarter and gave time to every available player.
Only Holiday, who is expected to be healthy for Tuesday’s quarterfinal, was a DNP.
Kerr, perhaps sensitive of disrespecting any of the top NBA players (in the age of social media, this has become a bigger priority), used his third different starting lineup and spread out the playing time.
The Americans are deep enough to eschew chemistry for individuality. At least until later in the tournament.
The U.S. won its three group games by an average of 23 points, pummeling Serbia and South Sudan before Puerto Rico.
The point differential earned the top seed and set up Tuesday’s favorable matchup against Brazil, which only has one marginal NBA player on its roster (Gui Santos).
The semifinal is when it gets real for the Americans, who could face host nation France with Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert.
The U.S. is gunning for a fifth straight gold medal.
The French, the runner-ups in the last Olympics, advanced to the quarterfinals despite being blown out in their last group game against Germany.
LeBron noticed their struggles.
“I wasn’t very impressed with their last game,” LeBron told reporters. “I didn’t think they were ready for the physicality of Germany. Other than that, they were playing some good ball.”
Adam Silver made the trip to Paris to watch the game against Puerto Rico, which shocked the U.S. in the 2004 Olympics.
Twenty years later, there was no such upset. Not even close.
The Puerto Ricans started hot with a 25-17 lead, but the Americans took control for good with a dominant second quarter and a 19-point lead at halftime.
Puerto Rico was led by Jose Alvarado, the diminutive point guard who scored 18 points.
Alvarado is a New Yorker, more so than anybody on the U.S. squad.
The 26-year-old was born in Brooklyn and went to Christ the King in Queens, where his jersey was retired last year.
But Alvarado’s Olympics are over after going 0-3 in group play.
The Americans move on with the top spot in the quarters and a Tuesday game against Brazil. .
