Team USA basketball vs. Spain score, Tokyo Olympics: United States advances to semifinals with 95-81 win

Team USA will face Australia on Thursday

Spain has been Team USA's biggest international rival for over a decade. The two teams played in gold medal games in 2008 and 2012, and after Team USA was knocked out of the 2019 FIBA World Cup, Spain went on to win the tournament and earn the title of world champion. In what will likely be the final Olympic contest for key Spanish stars Pau and Marc Gasol, Spain took one last shot at its longtime nemesis in the quarterfinals. 

They gave Team USA all they could handle. In the first half, Spain led by as many as 11 points. But ultimately, Team USA's shotmaking was too powerful for them to handle. Kevin Durant led the way for Team USA with 29 points as the Americans overcame that deficit to win, 95-81. They managed to do so despite a legendary game from Ricky Rubio, who scored 38 points in the loss. 

Spain has now been knocked out of the tournament. Team USA faces Australia in the semifinals after the Aussies dispatched Argentina with ease. If they win that game, they will face France, Slovenia or Italy in the gold medal game. Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Team USA victory. 

1. An all-time Olympic duel

Ricky Rubio is primarily known for his deficiencies as a scorer in the NBA. He isn't a slouch. He's averaged 11 points per game in his career, but that is the lone weakness in his otherwise stellar skill set. If Rubio were a better shooter, he might be an NBA All-Star. In the FIBA game, he's certainly played like one. Rubio broke Butch Lee's record for most points scored against Team USA in the Olympics by notching 38 of them in this loss. He got to the rim frequently and hit jumpers that he rarely even attempts in the NBA. It was a special performance. Had his teammates stepped up for him, it might have helped him complete the upset. 

But Kevin Durant was nearly as good. He scored 29 for Team USA, and when they were struggling to score in the first half, he was their only steady source of offense. His teammates woke up in the second half. Jayson Tatum hit a number of big buckets on the way to 13 points, and Jrue Holiday, Damian Lillard and Zach LaVine all got to double digits as well. That was the difference. Three of Spain's starters were held scoreless. Durant got the help he needed. Rubio did not.

Still, it was a remarkable sight on such a big stage. Durant has battled many all-timers in high-stakes moments. In the NBA, Rubio hasn't exactly been one of them. In the Olympics, he got to be. He pushed Team USA in this game, which may have been the best he's ever played at any level. 

2. Size continues to be a problem for Team USA

When Spain built its first-half lead, it did so on the glass. They opened this game with a 25-12 rebounding advantage. Team USA was better from there, but was still ultimately out-rebounded 42-32. Even when Spain was missing shots, it managed to find points in the early going by rebounding them and putting them back up. The lead as a whole was built inside. 

Opponent after opponent is having that same interior success against this team. Bam Adebayo and Draymond Green, for all of their other virtues, are not traditionally-sized centers. That has given opponents easy access to the basket on drives and rebounds. Spain lost this game in part because it couldn't take advantage to the degree that it needed to. They missed several makeable layups and bunnies inside that could have shrunken this margin.

If Team USA reaches the gold medal game, it will likely either be against France, a team that beat them thanks in part to Rudy Gobert's interior excellence, or Slovenia, a team that has Luka Doncic, who can get to the rim at will. This weakness is going to be tested again before the tournament's end.

3. The end of an era

Marc Gasol heavily implied that this was his last international tournament for Spain after the loss. Pau Gasol is 41 years old and unlikely to return. Rubio is the spring chicken of the Spanish core at 30. Rudy Fernandez is 36 and Sergio Llull is 33. In all likelihood, we have seen the last of a Spanish group that has undoubtedly been the best non-American national team in the world for the past decade. 

They never quite made it over the hump. In 2008 and 2012, they pushed Team USA in gold medal games. They took home bronze in 2016 despite Marc Gasol missing out due to a broken foot. The stars just never quite aligned for them. If Team USA's disastrous 2004 team had come four years later, they might have a gold medal instead of Argentina. If Gasol is healthy in 2016, perhaps they push an American team that played several close games then. 

It's a sad ending for one of the best international teams in FIBA history. Now Spain will attempt to reload around younger players like Usman Garuba, Alex Abrines and Willy Hernangomez. They may remain competitive, but it may be years or decades before they capture the same success as this group had. Team USA's greatest rival is officially out of the tournament, and possibly out of contention for the foreseeable future. 

[Aug 3, 2021 at 2:22 am ET · Sam Quinn]

That'll do it from Tokyo. Team USA beats Spain, 95-81.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 2:21 am ET · Sam Quinn]

Make it 38 for Rubio. Incredible.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 2:20 am ET · Sam Quinn]

Ricky Rubio's 36 points is the most any player has ever scored against Team USA in the Olympics.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 2:17 am ET · Sam Quinn]

Holiday for 3 and that will likely clinch it. Team USA leads 90-77 with 2:19 remaining.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 2:16 am ET · Sam Quinn]

Make it 36 points for Ricky Rubio. This is the game of his life.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 2:14 am ET · Sam Quinn]

Tatum hasn't been as prolific as Durant, but he's made the big shots when Team USA has needed them. They now lead by 10 off of his layup.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 2:13 am ET · Sam Quinn]

Rubio again! That's 34 points! Spain trails by eight. They'll need some luck to get back into this thing, but they have a shot here.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 2:13 am ET · Sam Quinn]

That's 32 points now for Rubio. An all-time performance for him likely to be in vain.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 2:12 am ET · Sam Quinn]

Great defense by Garuba there to knock the ball away from Bam. He squanders the opportunity by traveling on the other end, though.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 2:11 am ET · Sam Quinn]

Garuba's athleticism on display there with that dunk, but obviously it was uncontested after the whistle.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 2:09 am ET · Sam Quinn]

Rubio answers with a 3 of his own. That's 30 points on the night for the Spanish point guard.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 2:09 am ET · Sam Quinn]

Tatum for 3 right at the end of the shot clock! That should be the dagger for Team USA. They lead by 15, 81-66.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 2:04 am ET · Sam Quinn]

These missed layups are going to be the difference for Spain at this point. They've left so many points on the table here. Tatum's 3 pushes the lead back to 11.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 2:00 am ET · Sam Quinn]

Spain has made this thing a game again. Team USA leads 69-63 heading into the fourth quarter.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 1:59 am ET · Sam Quinn]

Rodriguez for 3! Spain cuts it to six. Things are getting interesting here.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 1:57 am ET · Sam Quinn]

Rubio is checking out. He's done everything for Spain tonight and it's taking a toll. If you'd told Spain that he'd have 27 points in three quarters, they'd likely be thrilled thinking they were going to win. Instead, Team USA leads by 10, 69-59.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 1:54 am ET · Sam Quinn]

Booker floats it in. It's so easy for him, and for this American team. Even the No. 2 ranked country in the world needs everything to go right to beat Team USA. Nothing is going right for Spain right now.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 1:54 am ET · Sam Quinn]

Rubio is doing everything in his power to fight Spain back into this game. He has 24 of Spain's 54 points, but his teammates aren't doing their part for him.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 1:53 am ET · Sam Quinn]

Rubio's 3 finally ends the drought. That's Spain's first field goal of the half. Team USA has... a good deal more. The result is a 65-52 American lead.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 1:51 am ET · Sam Quinn]

ANOTHER missed layup for Spain. They haven't made a field goal in the third quarter right as Team USA stops missing entirely.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 1:50 am ET · Sam Quinn]

Spain is clearly frustrated out here. That grab was unnecessary.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 1:49 am ET · Sam Quinn]

The penetration Team USA's guards can get against these international teams sets everything up. It's why all of their 3's are so clean. Now Team USA leads by 11. It's 58-47.

[Aug 3, 2021 at 1:48 am ET · Sam Quinn]

Durant ANOTHER 3! Team USA leads by nine!

[Aug 3, 2021 at 1:47 am ET · Sam Quinn]

Rubio nearly finishes that layup at the basket. He'll get two free throws instead.