MEN’S HOOPS

U.S. 102

Spain 94

ATHENS – He’d only waited all his life for this kind of moment, for this kind of game, and so there was no way he was going to let anything intrude upon the ending. His whole life, Stephon Marbury believed he was destined to do great things on a basketball court. His whole career, Marbury has waited to fulfill that fortune.

Yesterday, in what was certainly the most important basketball game he has ever played, he was equal to all of that. Spectacularly.

It wasn’t just that he scored 31 points – a new U.S. Olympic record – leading all scorers in the United States’ 102-94 win over Spain in the Olympic quarterfinals. It wasn’t just that he broke out of a tournament-long shooting funk by making 10 of 15 shots, including six out of nine from beyond the 3-point arc, also a new American Olympic record. Marbury was the first to recognize that.

“My team needed me to be as good as I’m capable of being,” he said. “I knew I needed to have a little extra out there today.”

The extras were what carried the day for Marbury, and what saved the tournament for the Americans. Unable to contain Pau Gasol, who seemed intent on fouling out the entire U.S. front line on his way to 29 points (including 11-for-11 from the line), the Americans needed a boost from their point guard.

And got one.

Every time it seemed that Spain, which entered this game 5-0 and the No. 1 seed out of the “A” pool, was poised to make a run late in the game, Marbury did something to foil them, never more so than late, when he intercepted a 2-on-1 fast break with just under four minutes left, and capped the possession off later with a 3-pointer that pushed the U.S. lead to 85-78 and all but ended the suspenseful portion of this game.

“I think it was a great game, we were able to keep it together and we shot the ball very, very well,” said U.S. coach Larry Brown, who became embroiled in an ugly shouting match with Spain coach Mario Pesquera just after the final buzzer over a timeout Brown chose to take late in the already-decided game. “I really think we can all see how much better this team is getting every day.”

It wasn’t just Marbury, either, although he was the glue for the entire 29 minutes and 30 seconds he was on the floor. The U.S., which came into the game shooting an abominable 24 percent from 3-point range during the five-game preliminary round, came out firing, making five of its first six shots and 12 of 22 overall.

That helped overcome the loss of Duncan, who played only four first-half minutes after picking up two quick fouls, and whose effectiveness (nine points, four rebounds) was limited once he returned.

“We made a hard team work,” said Duncan. “We played like a team and we beat a great opponent, who was coming in here on a big-time roll.”

Now, it is the Americans who seem to be gathering enough speed to be considered on an honest-to-goodness roll, something they will try to parlay tonight, when they face Argentina at 3:15 p.m. New York time.

“We have two more steps to climb,” Marbury said. “That’s all we’re thinking about. Two more games to the gold.”

Marbury-good

Stephon Marbury saved his best basketball of the Olympics for yesterday’s quarterfinal triumph over Spain, when he scored a U.S. Olympic record 31 points, more than he had totaled in the first five games in Athens (21). Here are the best one-game performances in U.S. Olympic history:

Points Player Opponent Date

31 Stephon Marbury Spain Aug. 26, 2004

30 Adrian Dantley Yugoslavia July 27, 1976

30 Charles Barkley Brazil July 31, 1992

28 David Robinson Yugoslavia Aug. 3, 1996

28 Jerry Lucas Japan Aug. 27, 1960