BASKETBALL : SWEETER DREAMS: 133-70.Byline: Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. The Dream Team finally came up with the game everybody was waiting for, a run-and-dunk extravaganza that set a record for most points by the U.S. in an Olympic basketball game. In a game that turned into a rout before the starting five left the floor, the U.S. trounced China 133-70. It broke the record of 127 points, reached twice in 1992. The Dream Teamers did as they pleased for the entire 40 minutes. They pulled away in the first half behind the outside shooting of ex-UCLA gunner Reggie Miller Reginald Wayne Miller (born August 24, 1965, in Riverside, California) is a retired American professional basketball player. Miller spent the entirety of his 18-year NBA career with the Indiana Pacers. and the all-around play of Scottie Pippen Scottie Maurice Pippen (born September 25, 1965 in Hamburg, Arkansas) is a retired American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). . Pippen finished with 24 points, a team high for this tournament, and Grant Hill had 19. The Lakers' new center, Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal (pronounced "shak-KEEL") (born March 6, 1972 in Newark, New Jersey), frequently referred to simply as Shaq, is an American professional basketball player, generally regarded as one of the most dominant in the National Basketball Association (NBA). , had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Anfernee Hardaway had 15 points and 10 assists. It was easily the Dream Team's best game of the Olympics, and it woke up a home crowd that had been almost lifeless in the first three games of the tournament. The crowd, announced as an Olympic-record 34,417, gave the Dream Team its biggest round of applause early in the second half when Charles Barkley This article is about the basketball player. For the politican, see Charles E. Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player. spelled out the letters Y-M-C-A while the Village People song played during a timeout. It was followed by chants of ``We Want Barkley'' and ``U-S-A,'' but the crowd never got its wish, as Barkley became the first U.S. player to sit out an entire game. The Americans more than doubled their average margin of victory from the first three games. Miller set a U.S. team record by making five 3-pointers and Pippen had four. The previous record was three, set several times. The record of 127 points was tied with 2:47 left on a basket by Mitch Richmond Mitchell James ("Mitch") Richmond (born June 30, 1965 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida) is a retired American basketball player in the National Basketball Association. Known as "The Rock," "The Hammer", "The Captain," and "The Scorelord," Richmond was one of the NBA's best pure shooters . The record fell 19 seconds later when Hill banked the ball in off the glass after a nice lob pass by John Stockton This article is about the professional basketball player. For the U.S. Senator from New Jersey, see John P. Stockton. John Houston Stockton (born March 26, 1962) is a retired American professional basketball player who spent his entire career (1984–2003) as a . Finally, the Americans faced a team unafraid to play an uptempo style. And China played right into the hands of the Dream Team, which previously was frustrated by the slowdown pace of its opponents. The rout was on just a few minutes in as Pippen and Karl Malone scored the first 14 points for the U.S. team, most of them on fast breaks. By halftime, the Dream Team led 65-28. |
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