He took a quick dribble to his left, but Lamar Odom was there, hawking him. Sarunas Jasikevicius hesitated, convinced Odom to make contact and launched a three-point shot as he fell to the floor.
His shot dropped. Odom winced. Jasikevicius rose and smirked at his foe, teasing Odom for being silly.
That was how Jasikevicius exited mortality. He did not return unitl he had completed a most amazing 111-second stretch and put another dent in American basketball.
The U.S. men’s basketball team threw its strongest punch Saturday night, temporarily looked like a real team capable of creating respect–and then forgot about Jasikevicius. In truth, the Americans really never knew Jasikevicius in the first place, the U.S. players admitting so afterward.
It was the latest in a string of mistakes for this team. Beginning with that four-point play, Jasikevicius scored 12 points in 1 minute 51 seconds, including three three-pointers, as Lithuania beat the U.S. 94-90.
In seven days, this collection of young American NBA stars has doubled its country’s all-time Olympic loss total. The U.S. entered 109-2 over its first 64 years of Olympic play. It stands 2-2 in this tournament, but the Americans will advance from pool play and have a chance at a medal, even if they lose to Angola on Monday.
“I’m disappointed, to say the least,” coach Larry Brown said. “But I think we’re getting better.”
Brown chose the Americans’ preferred postgame remark–“We’re getting better–which might have been another indicator of the deterioration of U.S. basketball.
The U.S. had never lost in a preliminary round before Puerto Rico defeated the Americans 92-73 a week ago. The embarrassing feats keep multiplying.
“About five or six calls late in the game didn’t go our way,” said Richard Jefferson, who led the U.S. with 20 points. “We let that get in the way of playing, and we can’t do that.”
And multiplying.
Invincibility can vanish quickly.
“In ’92 everybody knew they were going to win,” Jasikevicius said, referring to the Dream Team, the first group of NBA players the U.S. sent to the Olympics. “In ’96 everybody knew they were going to win. Now there’s a chance.”
Jasikevicius didn’t mention 2000. In those Olympics, he missed a last-second three-pointer that would have handed American NBA players their first loss in international competition.
“I don’t think about it,” said Jasikevicius, who finished with 28 points, including seven three-pointers, and four assists. “The shot in Sydney, I keep saying, never had a chance to go in.”
Back then a two-point U.S. win made headlines. Since then, American NBA players have lost six times, including an exhibition loss to Italy. Six different nations have beaten them. No wonder the world isn’t afraid.
“This team is still the favorite to win gold, but this team is beatable,” Jasikevicius said of the U.S.
He beat them Saturday. His 12-point surge brought Lithuania from down 84-81 with 2:47 remaining to up 93-87 with 56 seconds left. The Americans, who had controlled the game and led by double figures for stretches, were stunned. Again.
“You can’t have a game like that defensively and expect to win the game,” Brown said.
He noted his team had surrendered 94 points in 40 minutes. He saw Lithuania shoot 51.8 percent and make 13 three-pointers. He sighed, only minutes after Lithuanian men and women his age had danced and hugged and kissed in the stands.
“The one thing we can take from this loss is that we know we’re a lot better now than when we came here,” U.S. forward Carlos Boozer said.
