Zach LaVine is going to have plenty of bragging rights over his Chicago Bulls teammate Tomá Satoransk after Team USA trounced the Czech Republic 119-84 to advance to the Olympics quarterfinals Saturday.
The men’s national team bounced back from an upset loss to France in the opener with blowout victories in their final two games of group play against Iran and the Czech Republic. The U.S. advanced to the eight-team knockout round behind 23 points from Kevin Durant, who passed Carmelo Anthony to become the men’s team’s all-time leading scorer in the Olympics.
After kicking off the Olympics in the starting lineup, LaVine came off the bench to help spark the U.S. He scored 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting with five assists.
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LaVine said before the Games he was looking forward to the matchup with Satoransk , especially after Satoransk FaceTimed him excited at 2 a.m. after the Czech Republic qualified to get into Team USA’s group.
Satoransk has been one of the leaders for the Czech Republic and is the only NBA player on their roster, helping them qualify for their first Olympics with a win in the FIBA qualifying tournament. He finished with 12 points, eight assists and six rebounds Saturday.
The Czech Republic finished with a 1-2 record in group play but point differentials will determine which teams advance, so their blowout loss will all but end their stay in Tokyo.
Team USA, however, appears to be back on track after a rocky start.
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