SAITAMA, Japan (AP) \u2014 The U.S. lost its first two exhibition games of the summer in Las Vegas, dropped its opening game at these Olympics and had a difficult\u2026<\/b>
\nSAITAMA, Japan (AP) \u2014 The U.S. lost its first two exhibition games of the summer in Las Vegas, dropped its opening game at these Olympics and had a difficult time shaking free of the Czech Republic in their group-play finale. None of that matters now. The Americans are headed to the quarterfinals at the Tokyo Games \u2014 with a shot of being good as gold once again. Jayson Tatum scored 27 points, Kevin Durant added 23 and set a pair of USA Basketball men\u2019s Olympic records, and the U.S. defeated the Czechs 119-84 on Saturday to clinch a berth in the knockout stage. Zach LaVine scored 13 points, Jrue Holiday had 11 and JaVale McGee finished with 10 points for the U.S. The Americans shot 7 for 20 in the first quarter \u2014 then made 33 of 44 shots over the next 26 minutes, including a staggering 21-for-25 start to the second half. The U.S. (2-1) finished second behind France in Group A, but will join the French, Australia and the winner of Sunday\u2019s game between Slovenia and Spain as a top-four seed for Tuesday\u2019s quarterfinals based on FIBA\u2019s tiebreaker system that includes point differential. Those quarterfinal matchups will be decided in a draw on Sunday night, but the U.S. has now assured itself of not having to face any of the three group winners until at least the semifinals. Blake Schilb scored 17 for the Czech Republic (1-2), which led by 10 early and was still up 60-54 midway through the third quarter. In a flash, the Czech hope of a stunner ended there. Durant \u2014 who passed Carmelo Anthony as both the U.S. Olympic men\u2019s all-time points and all-time field goals leader during the game \u2014 hit a 3-pointer to end the third quarter, capping a 22-6 run that put the Americans up by 22 going into the final quarter. The outcome was not in doubt again. Ondrej Balvin scored 15, Jan Vesely had 13 and Tomas Satoransky added 12 points for the Czechs. The U.S. is headed to the quarters, where it is win-or-else time. And the quarterfinals were the round where it all went awry for the U.S. at the last major international competition, the Basketball World Cup in China two years ago. The Americans lost to France, ending all hope of a medal and eventually finished seventh. This team \u2014 54-point winners over Iran and 35-point winners on Saturday \u2014 hasn\u2019t looked much like that one, though it needed some time to find its best stride against the Czechs. The Czechs led by as many as 10 in the first quarter, shooting 65% to the Americans\u2019 35% in the opening 10 minutes. With a roster featuring just one current NBA player \u2014 Satoransky \u2014 they did not look the least bit intimidated by the U.S. Durant gave the U.S. its first lead midway through the second quarter, a 3-pointer putting the Americans up 34-33. The lead eventually got to as much as seven, before the U.S. settled for a 47-43 edge at halftime. And that left some in the crowd \u2014 hundreds of people were in the lower bowl of the arena, even though no tickets were being sold \u2014 more than a bit anxious. Among them: Members of the German team; their hopes of qualifying as one of the top third-place teams hinged on the outcome of this game. By the start of the fourth, the Germans could relax. So could the Americans. ___ More AP Olympics: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/Olympics and https:\/\/twitter.com\/AP_Sports Copyright \u00a9 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.<\/p>\n