Olympic Basketball: Spain Narrowly Beats Great Britain, Russians Beat Brazil At Buzzer

2012 Olympic Basketball Standings Update: Analyzing The Medal-Round Possibilities

The 2012 Olympic basketball tournament continues on Saturday with six critical games in the preliminary rounds. At this point, the group standings are starting to take shape, making these six games especially important. The top four teams in each group advance to the single-elimination quarterfinals, and everyone in Group B is trying to avoid fourth place and a date with Team USA.

Here's how we stand in each group right now.

GROUP A

1. Team USA: 3-0, 6 points, +157 point differential.
2. Argentina: 2-1, 5 points, +39 point differential.
3. France: 2-1, 5 points, -12 point differential.
4. Lithuania: 1-2, 4 points, -12 point differential.
5. Nigeria: 1-2, 4 points, -98 point differential.
6. Tunisia: 0-3, 3 points, -74 point differential

Even with Lithuania facing Team USA on Saturday, its spot in the medal round is fairly secure. Nigeria was throttled by Team USA on Thursday, ruining any hopes of beating Lithuania out on point differential. They must therefore defeat both France and Argentina to have a chance to get to fourth place. Lithuania, meanwhile, would only need to beat lowly Tunisia to secure its place in the medal round. Assuming that happens, Lithuania would likely face the winner of Saturday's Spain-Russia showdown in the quarterfinals.

The interesting battle will be for second place between France and Argentina. While France has the head-to-head victory, point differential is the ultimate tiebreaker, and Argentina is way ahead there. Argentina, however, still must face Team USA, so France should be able to close that gap. The second-place team would not have to face Team USA until the gold-medal game, so this is a battle worth watching.

GROUP B

1. Russia: 3-0, 6 points, +40 point differential.
2. Spain: 3-0, 6 points, +29 point differential.
3. Brazil: 2-1, 5 points, +8 point differential.
4. Australia: 1-2, 4 points, +4 point differential.
5. Great Britain: 0-3, 3 points, -26 point differential.
6. China: 0-3, 3 points, -55 point differential.

Saturday's showdown between Russia and Spain is massive. The winner has the upper hand for first place in the group and can therefore avoid Team USA until the gold-medal game. The loser must face either France or Argentina in the quarterfinals and likely take on Team USA in the semifinals.

Meanwhile, the game between Great Britain and Australia will likely decide Team USA's opponent in the quarterfinals. A win by Australia all but gives them the fourth spot. A win by Great Britain, though, would change things. Both teams would have five points before Monday's final game, but Great Britain faces lowly China, while Australia has to face Russia.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics hub.

Team USA Vs. Nigeria, Olympics 2012: Carmelo Anthony Leads Americans To Record-Breaking 156-73 Win

Team USA put on a record-breaking performance against Nigeria on Thursday night, remaining undefeated in Group A play with a 156-73 win. USA obliterated the all-time single-game Olympic scoring record of 138 points, previously held by the 1988 Brazilian national team. After a sluggish start against Tunisia on Tuesday, America's starters came out from the opening tip and absolutely blitzed the overmatched Nigerian club. Team USA took a 13-0 lead less than three minutes into the game and was quickly on their way to a 49-point quarter that included 11 3-pointers.

It was a shooting display for the ages that included an insane 29 made 3three-pointers -- a record for any Team USA game. As a team, USA hit 71.1 percent from the floor and 63 percent from behind the arc. USA made more 3-pointers than Nigeria made total field goals en route to the 83-point win.

In addition to the array of U.S. and Olympic scoring records that fell, Carmelo Anthony broke Team USA's individual scoring record by dropping 37 points in just 14 minutes of floor time. The previous American single-game record was Stephon Marbury's 31 points; Anthony exceeded that in the third quarter. Anthony hit an amazing 10 of 12 attempts from behind the arc, one shy of the American Olympic team record.

Along with 'Melo, Kobe Bryant led Team USA's offensive explosion in the first half. He had 16 points in the first 20 minutes (of which he only played 11) and was done for the night as coach Mike Krzyzewski rested his top superstars for the second-half blowout. Russell Westbrook picked up the highlight show in the second half and finished with 21 points.

Next up, Team USA faces Lithuania on Saturday in their fourth game in Group A play.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics hub.

Spain Vs. Great Britain, Olympics 2012: Jose Calderon Holds Off British Comeback Attempt For 79-78 Spain Win

Spain improved to an undefeated 3-0 in Group B of the men's basketball tournament at the 2012 Summer Olympics with a 79-78 win over Great Britain on Thursday. After trailing by double digits for much of the second half, Great Britain made a push in the final five minutes to try and even things up against the heavily favored Spaniards. But Britian's leader, Luol Deng, committed a costly turnover as he drove to the basket and lobbed a lazy pass across a congested lane. Deng has had to carry Britain in each of its first three games and he looked exhausted in the final minute, committing turnovers on two straight possessions as Britain tried to close the deficit.

In the final 30 seconds, Britain hit 3-pointers on three straight possessions to keep the game close, but they never could quite even things up. After Deng hit an off-balance 3-pointer to cut Spain's lead to a single point, the British could not catch Jose Calderon in the backcourt as he dribbled out the last five seconds along the baseline. Calderon, one of the best free-throw shooters in basketball, helped ice the game by scoring Spain's final eight points, including a perfect 6-for-6 mark from the free-throw line to close Britain out. Calderon led Spain with 19 points, while Pau Gasol added 17 on the inside.

Deng, who led Great Britain's dramatic 30-point fourth quarter charge, led all scorers with 26 points. But it was not enough, as Britain remained winless in Group B. They will now face Australia on Saturday, while Spain moves on to play the undefeated Russians in a match that will crown an undisputed leader atop the group.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics hub.

Brazil Vs. Russia, Olympics 2012: The Russians Stay Undefeated With Buzzer Beater Win

Russia and Brazil came into Thursday's game undefeated, and their clash in the Pool B qualifier came down to the final minutes. Russia's Vitaly Fridzon nailed a backbreaking buzzer beater to give Russian a one-point win. It was exactly the sort of battle you'd expect from two of the better international teams in the world.

The teams stayed close throughout. Russia was led by Timofey Mozgov's 18 points and Andrei Kirilenko chipped in with 17 points of his own. For the Brazilians, their superstar big men, Nene and Tiago Splitter, scored 8 points each, with Nene adding 10 rebounds. Leandro Barbosa also added 16 points off the bench.

But it was the role players who made the difference down the stretch. With the teams knotted at 72, Brazil point guard Marcelo Huertas careened down the lane and lunged toward the rim with a prayer of a layup that somehow fell through to give the Brazilian's a two-point lead, 74-72.

It was a spectacular shot, and it looked like the game-winner, but there were still 6 seconds left. And if Huertas' leaning lay-up was great, Vitaly Fridzon's leaning three was just a little bit better:

That made it 75-74, and a last-second heave from Barbosa didn't fall, giving Russia a thrilling win, keeping them undefeated through pool play. In conclusion: The Olympics are the greatest.

Argentina Vs. Tunisia, Olympics 2012: Where Manu Ginobili Is Amazing

Tunisia looked like it might pull off a huge upset on Thursday morning when it matched up with Argentina as pool play continued at the 2012 London Olympics, even leading 28-14 after the first quarter. It wasn't long after that, however, that Manu Ginobili did what very few others are able to do on the international basketball stage en route to a 92-69 victory for the Argentineans.

Ginobili opened the second quarter strong, scoring 12 in the second half as the South Americans went on an impressive 15-0 run to swing the momentum back in their favor. Before it was all over, the amazing Argentinian scored 24 points and grabbed six rebounds ... and he did it every which way possible.

The Argentinean showed no aging as he scored in a variety of ways: sometimes he was set up by fellow NBAer Luis Scola for the spot-up three-pointer, he occasionally kept his defender off balance while creating his owns shot from behind the arc (he'd finish 4-of-4 from deep) and then, on one particularly fun possession, Ginobili used his first quick step, fancy fake-passing abilities and general veteran-savvy to score right through three Tunisian defenders:

Ginobili wasn't the only outstanding Argentinean on Thursday, though, as Scola chipped in a solid double-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while Carlos Delfino stepped up to score 21 points in the absence of anything from Andres Nocioni (0-for-6 from the field) and Pablo Prigioni (renal colic).

Tunisia's inside-out attack worked well early as Mourad El Mabrouk hit five of his 10 3-point attempts while Utah Jazz Summer League sensation Salah Mejri put in impressive work on his way to 19 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks, but the team was just too outmatched to keep up with Argentina's NBA players.

Pool play will continue for both teams on Saturday when Tunisia plays France in the day's opening game while Argentina's drawn the nightcap against Nigeria.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics hub.

Yi Jianlian Injury: Chinese Star Helped Off Court After Twisting Knee

China's national team has been at a disadvantage in the 2012 London Olympics ever since Yao Ming retired, but its basketball team took another potential serious blow on Thursday morning. The new face of the team, former NBA lottery pick Yi Jianlian, had to be helped off the court after a late knee injury in his team's loss to Australia.

Details are scare on exactly what happened in the game, but The Associated Press offers the following account:

Yi had to be helped off the floor by teammates and he was still limping badly when the game was over.

Chinese coach Bob Donewald says it's too soon to tell how serious the injury is. Yi will be examined by doctors later in the afternoon.

Hopefully that examination goes OK considering Yi's team will need to win its final two games of pool -- against Brazil Saturday and host team Great Britain on Monday -- to have even a semblance of a chance at advancing into the knockout round.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics hub.

Pablo Prigioni Out Against Tunisia Due To Renal Colic

Argentina's national team shouldn't have any trouble dispatching Tunisia in Thursday morning's basketball game, but their odds got slightly worse when a bit of breaking news broke just prior to the matchup beginning. Starting point guard Pablo Prigioni -- a recent signing by the New York Knicks -- was scratched from the starting lineup due to renal colic.

Breaking news in Argentina. Pablo Prigioni out of the line-up today to face Tunisia with renal colic. Had intense pain during Weds practice

— JEFF TAYLOR (@JeffreyNTaylor) August 2, 2012

"Renal colic" isn't something the average American household knows a lot about, but a quick trip to the always reliable renalcolic.org explains that renal colic is just the term for "the pain associated with the presence of kidney stones in the bladder."

Hopefully Prigioni is able to pass the kidney stones sooner rather than later -- and that Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola and Andres Nocioni can handle their business until their point guard returns.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics hub.

China vs. Australia, Olympics 2012: Patty Mills Shoots Boomers To 20-Point Victory

A 15-3 run in the second quarter featuring a four-point play from David Andersen gave Australia an 81-61 win over China, its first of the Olympic tournament.

China was able to keep the game reasonable thanks to the phenomenal shooting of Wang Shipeng, who nailed seven out of 10 attempts from beyond the arc to finish with 21 points -- yes, he only scored from beyond the arc -- but the Aussies' 28-11 advantage in the second quarter gave them the easy victory.

Patty Mills led Australia with 20 including four triples, followed by Andersen, who had 17. Yi Jianlian didn't have the scoring performance of Wang, but his 13 points and 12 rebounds were vital. However, Yi left the game late after limping off the court, which can't be good news for China, whose hopes depend on the big man who carried the nation's flag in the opening ceremony.

The loss might be one from which China won't be able to recover: assuming Great Britain is far and away the worst team in the group -- sorry, automatic qualifying bros! -- it will need a win against a team that isn't Great Britain to advance out of the group, but have lost heavily to all three teams it has faced. Its best chance was probably against Australia.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics hub.

France Vs. Lithuania, Olympics 2012: Tony Parker, Strong Third Lead France To Victory

Lithuania led at the half, but France's defense perked up and its NBA talent won out, as the French earned themselves a second straight victory against quality competition, beating the Lithuanians 82-74.

The surprise star early wasn't who you'd expect, as former Duke bench player Martynas Pocius nailed three threes and all five of his field goals in the first half to finish with 13, allowing the Lithuanians to take a 43-39 lead at the break. But contributions from France's bevy of NBA talent allowed them to pull ahead in a 20-9 third quarter, giving them a lead that would hold up.

Tony Parker led the way with 27 -- the goggles don't seem to be bothering him -- NIcolas Batum had an incredibly efficient 21 points on only nine shots, and Boris Diaw and Ronny Turiaf filled the statsheet -- Diaw had 10 points, six rebounds, and a pleasant eight assists, while Turiaf had 10 rebounds to go with six points. Pocius finished with a team-high 18 while Linas Kleiza put in 17. Jonas Valanciunas got into foul trouble early and only played seven minutes.

France finds itself in a very nice position after three games: a loss to the United States was absolutely expected, but it has followed that up with quality wins over Argentina and Lithuania. Lithuania is still likely safe to make the second round at 1-2 -- Nigeria and Tunisia are clearly a level below the other competition in the group -- but a blowout loss to Argentina and now this certainly haven't made the process easy for them.

For more on the Olympics, check out SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics hub.

Men's Olympic Basketball Schedule: United States Will Face Nigeria On Day 3

The United States men's basketball team continues Olympic play Thursday with a game against Nigeria.