U.S. Men’s Basketball Suffers Stunning Defeat

In a hot, stuffy gym with exposed girders and blue plastic seats, far from the posses and palatial arenas to which its players are accustomed, the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team lost its claim to international supremacy with a 92-73 loss Sunday to Puerto Rico.

Its hold had been slipping since 1992, when the Barcelona “Dream Team” of National Basketball Assn. superstars breezed past opponents who later begged for their autographs. Other NBA standouts played in Atlanta and Sydney, but by then, the NBA’s global marketing reach had put basketball courts on every continent and allowed players throughout the world to dream about beating their American idols -- and learn the skills to make those dreams reality.

For the U.S. team Sunday, though it remains in the tournament with a chance for a gold medal, the harsh reality was its first defeat in the 25 Olympic contests in which NBA players have participated. Before that, the U.S. team’s only two losses in the Olympics came against the Soviet Union -- in the controversial gold medal game at Munich in 1972 and a semifinal game at Seoul in 1988. Never before had the margin of defeat been more than six.

In front of a crowd at the Helliniko Indoor Arena that swelled from respectable to standing-room-only by the final buzzer, the U.S. was routed by a team it had defeated by 25 points in a July 31 exhibition with three of its top players on the bench.

Puerto Rico made 56% of its shots (31 for 55), including eight of 16 from three-point range; the U.S. made merely 35% (26 for 75) and only three of 24 three-point attempts. The U.S. interior defense was porous and its scorers never found any rhythm against Puerto Rico’s zone defense.

The loss marked the end of an era that will not be repeated.

“It means a lot, playing against these guys,” said Jose Ortiz, Puerto Rico’s 40-year-old center. “Sometimes you think they can’t be beaten.”

Said U.S. forward Lamar Odom, who was acquired by the Lakers last month in a trade with Miami: “The best athletes lose. From Muhammad Ali to the New York Yankees to Mike Tyson to the L.A. Lakers. Michael Jordan lost big games. It happens. You just try to move on and hope that it doesn’t happen again.”

The first significant crack in the U.S. facade appeared at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, when Lithuania nearly staged a semifinal upset and France made a good run before the U.S. won its third consecutive gold medal. The U.S. team’s sixth-place finish at the 2002 World Championships was another hint that the world was catching up, but that was widely attributed to the absence of many NBA players who didn’t want to give up their summer vacations to play in the tournament.

Although a U.S. loss at these Games seemed inevitable, that it happened with so little resistance seemed to stun everyone but U.S. Coach Larry Brown.

“I’m not mystified. The first day we got with this group I knew what was in store, basically,” he said. “I’m angry because the mentality of this team has been like this from Day One. Now, we’ve got to coach them better and find out if we’re truly ready to become a team.”

The last U.S. lead, 11-10, came with 3 minutes 58 seconds left in the first of the four 10-minute quarters played in the international game. Brown’s team scored only seven points in the second quarter and twice trailed by 22 points, fueling rhythmic chants of “Puer-to Ri-co!” from exuberant, flag-waving fans.

The U.S. players were jeered when they left the court at halftime trailing, 49-27, and not even a late surge that brought them within nine points with 5:01 left to play could give much oomph to the few “USA” chants that broke out.

Too many turnovers -- 22 -- and too few points from outside brought about the U.S. team’s downfall.

“They brought a young team, when you compare with previous teams,” Ortiz said of the U.S. “And they were playing together for more time, those other teams.... Tonight they didn’t play really well. We did a great job offensively and defensively.”

Puerto Rico’s Carlos Arroyo, who averaged 12.6 points per game for the NBA’s Utah Jazz last season, scored a game-high 24 points and had four steals. Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers and Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs led the U.S. with 15 points each. Duncan also had 16 rebounds, 11 off the offensive boards.

“I think they played so much harder than us and better as a team that the result was not a surprise, because that’s what usually happens,” said Brown, who guided the Detroit Pistons past the Lakers for the NBA title two months ago. Brown knew he faced a situation that would be difficult, if not untenable, in working with a team heavy on potential and light on experience with international basketball and the quirks that set it apart from the college and NBA games, such as aggressive zone defenses and unfamiliar officiating.

Many elite players declined to be considered for the Athens team. Others, such as Karl Malone, Shaquille O’Neal, Tracy McGrady, Mike Bibby, Elton Brand, Kevin Garnett and Ben Wallace backed out later, citing personal or family reasons. Some hinted at security-related concerns for withdrawing.

The revolving door left a group that averages 23.6 years old and has only two players -- Iverson and Duncan -- who are among the NBA’s established elite.

Brown had merely a dozen practices in which to transform a dozen players who might be the prime scorers on their NBA teams into a cohesive, complementary squad. Although they seemed chastened by losing to Italy in their second exhibition game, the lax defensive play, poor shooting and costly turnovers Brown had bemoaned a few weeks ago consigned them to a loss in their first of five preliminary-round games.

“They hit some shots. They hit a lot of outside shots, and we shot the ball horribly from outside,” Odom said. “Whenever you shoot the ball like that and you give up easy baskets, you have the opportunity to lose the game, I don’t care where or what it may be.

“In the spirit of competition we are the team that everyone wants to beat.”

Beating the U.S. team Sunday was easier than it should have been, according to George Karl, who coached the U.S. national team at the 2002 World Championships.

“This is really kind of sad,” Karl said by phone from his home in Milwaukee. “I was just joking that Larry’s job used to be the most prestigious for any of us coaches. Now, a lot of the players just turn their backs on it and pretty soon, the coaches are going to start to say, ‘Hey, no thanks, never mind.’ Can you imagine?”

Rick Majerus, an assistant coach of the triumphant 1996 Olympic team, also used the word “sad” to describe the U.S. players’ lack of energy and enthusiasm.

“The other teams play so long together that they have that advantage,” Majerus said, “but we can make up for that by playing hard. And the selection process, like it is now, just lets us shoot ourselves in the foot. Instead of getting players who want to be there, we cater to guys and put them on cruise ships.

“I remember in Atlanta, we’d beat teams by 30 and they called us Ugly Americans. I’d rather have that than this.”

Karl acknowledged that he “wouldn’t want to be Larry Brown right now,” yet he hasn’t given up hope.

“I still feel they are the most talented team there,” Karl said. “If I was going to go to Vegas and I had to take a team, I’d still pick them. They will get into the medal round and then the focus becomes different. They’ll have that playoff mentality. They’re still favored to win the gold, in my mind.”

At least until they face Greece on Tuesday and the host nation’s inspired fans.

“There’s no way we can lose two games,” Odom said. “We definitely have to come out and play our best basketball. We have no choice.

“We are going to see what we are all made of.”

Times staff writer Bill Dwyre contributed to this report.