ISTANBUL, Turkey -- After awakening to news of bombings in this ancient city, the U.S. Olympic basketball team decided to play on.
And by the time the Americans finished an 80-68 victory over Turkey in front of a jeering and whistling crowd, they pronounced themselves ready for Athens -- but still jittery from the events of an anxious day.
The Americans' final Olympic tuneup was similar to many others during an up-and-down tour through Europe. They were unable to dominate an opponent that figured to be vastly overmatched, but they got the job done in the end.
What made this day different was a major off-the-court event that tested their focus.
The team learned early in the morning that bombs had exploded at two tourist hotels and a fuel depot a few miles from their hotel, but team and U.S. government officials reassured them it would be safe to go ahead with the game.
"I don't know that everybody is absolutely confident and secure with everything, but they said everything would be fine, so you have to keep going on," Tim Duncan said.
And so they did. After failing to shake Turkey for three quarters, the U.S. team hit its stride in the fourth quarter -- but not before the crowd gave them an earful.
The play that turned the fans against them came when LeBron James swiped at the ball and hit Turkey guard Ibrahim Kutluay in the eye. Kutluay, who scored 26 points, lay writhing on the floor before walking off. He eventually returned.
Another Turkish player went down moments later, and the whistles and shrieks from the crowd reached earsplitting levels whenever the Americans had the ball thereafter.
"This is part of the game. I think it was the right answer from the fans, and they'll see it in Greece, too," Turkey center Mehmet Okur said. "It's much different in Europe. It's not like the NBA."
Sportsline
And by the time the Americans finished an 80-68 victory over Turkey in front of a jeering and whistling crowd, they pronounced themselves ready for Athens -- but still jittery from the events of an anxious day.
The Americans' final Olympic tuneup was similar to many others during an up-and-down tour through Europe. They were unable to dominate an opponent that figured to be vastly overmatched, but they got the job done in the end.
What made this day different was a major off-the-court event that tested their focus.
The team learned early in the morning that bombs had exploded at two tourist hotels and a fuel depot a few miles from their hotel, but team and U.S. government officials reassured them it would be safe to go ahead with the game.
"I don't know that everybody is absolutely confident and secure with everything, but they said everything would be fine, so you have to keep going on," Tim Duncan said.
And so they did. After failing to shake Turkey for three quarters, the U.S. team hit its stride in the fourth quarter -- but not before the crowd gave them an earful.
The play that turned the fans against them came when LeBron James swiped at the ball and hit Turkey guard Ibrahim Kutluay in the eye. Kutluay, who scored 26 points, lay writhing on the floor before walking off. He eventually returned.
Another Turkish player went down moments later, and the whistles and shrieks from the crowd reached earsplitting levels whenever the Americans had the ball thereafter.
"This is part of the game. I think it was the right answer from the fans, and they'll see it in Greece, too," Turkey center Mehmet Okur said. "It's much different in Europe. It's not like the NBA."
Sportsline
Bottom line is that this particular USA team lacks consistent outside shooting and doesn't know how to play as a team yet due to such a short time being together. Italy and Germany both played zone which resulted in the USA team getting trounced in one game and winning on a made prayer in the other. This team will struggle with every team of quality that plays zone but will handily beat the teams that play man to man like Serbia did. Anything is possible, but depending on the brackets, this team may have difficulty winning a medal at all. How well they play defensively will determine if they medal or not.
