LONDON — The hiccups outnumbered the highlights, and for a while the U.S. racked up fouls faster than points.
The opener wasn’t artistic.
However, it was enough - easily enough.
Kevin Durant scored 22 points in his Olympic debut, Kevin Love added 14 and LeBron James had eight assists as the American men’s basketball team overcame some sloppy moments with a 98-71 victory Sunday over France.
“We know everybody else expects us to win by 40 points,” said Carmelo Anthony. “For us, a win’s a win. We expect every game to be like this one.”
Seeking a second consecutive gold medal to match the redemptive one they captured in Beijing four years ago, the Americans expected a tough test from a French team featuring San Antonio guard Tony Parker and five other NBA players. And although the U.S. was never in real trouble - it only led 22-21 after one quarter - there were enough flaws (14 turnovers, 26 fouls) to keep Coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff busy and this superstar-laden squad from feeling too comfortable.
“It wasn’t perfect,” said James, who only took six shots while setting up his teammates. “We’ve still got room for improvement. We had too many turnovers, too many fouls and we had a couple of defensive rebounds we could have come up with. But overall, we played a pretty good game for as close to 40 minutes as possible.”
Kobe Bryant had said this team could beat the 1992 Dream Team that changed international hoops forever at the Barcelona Games. That match up is mythical, but the London Games aren’t and this U.S. team will have to play much better in upcoming games if it plans to maintain American dominance.
“We know we have to keep going for 40 minutes and play hard,” said Bryant, who only played 12 minutes.
Afterward, Parker, who nearly missed these games after undergoing surgery for a freak eye injury, didn’t want to concede anything to the Americans. But when asked if the U.S. team can be beat, he took a contemplative pause before responding.
“They’re going to be very, very tough to beat,” Parker said.
At times, the Americans’ offense was erratic. The U.S missed its first six three-pointers and settled too quickly for jump shots instead of driving to the basket. But France wasn’t able to capitalize as the U.S. turned up its pressure on defense and forced 18 turnovers.
With first lady Michelle Obama on hand to cheer on the U.S., Durant, Anthony and Tyson Chandler each had nine rebounds for the Americans, who will play Tuesday against Tunisia, beaten 60-56 by Nigeria in the tournament opener.
Parker, playing with goggles to protect a surgically repaired left eye, scored 10 points but France fell to 0-5 in Olympic competition against the USA. Ali Traore scored 12 points to lead France, which got few uncontested looks from the outside and missed 20 of 22 3-pointers.
“They pressured us from the start until the end,” France Coach Vincent Collet said.
With the U.S. leading 52-36 at halftime, Durant opened the second half with a three pointer, Bryant hit another three-pointer and after James dunked an alley-oop pass from Deron Williams, the Americans led 64-43.
The U.S. team’s lead ballooned to 78-51 after three quarters, allowing Krzyzewski to rest Bryant, James and Durant for most of the fourth quarter. With the game well in hand, Krzyzewski even gave Anthony Davis, the top pick in June’s NBA draft, his first taste of Olympic play.
Durant had struggled to score during a recent exhibition tour, prompting James to give his close friend and teammate a pep talk.
“I told K.D. to be himself,” James said. “We need the K.D. who scores. We don’t need the K.D. who defers.”
Men’s basketball
At Olympic Park-Basketball Arena
SUNDAY’S GAMES Nigeria 60, Tunisia 56 Brazil 75, Australia 71 United States 98, France 71 Spain 97, China 81 Russia 95, Britain 75 Argentina 102, Lithuania 79
TUESDAY’S GAMES All times Central China vs. Russia, 3 a.m.
Australia vs. Spain, 5:15 a.m.
Lithuania vs. Nigeria, 8:30 a.m.
Britain vs. Brazil, 10:45 a.m.
France vs. Argentina, 2 p.m.
Tunisia vs. United States, 4:15 p.m.
Sports, Pages 13 on 07/30/2012