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August 26, 2004 2:22 pm

Marbury leads U.S. into basketball semis

By Kevin Tresolini

Gannett News Service

ATHENS, Greece - Out of the blue came Stephon Marbury. Into the semifinals went the United States men's basketball team.

And gone from medal contention went ill-fated Spain, which was unbeaten in preliminary play and rewarded with a quarterfinal against the struggling but exceedingly talented United States on Thursday at the Summer Olympics.

Marbury, a guard for the New York Knicks, gave the United States the outside scoring threat it lacked while sputtering to a 3-2 preliminary record. His American Olympic record 31 points were the foundation for a 102-94 win over Spain in front of a noisy crowd of 14,500 at the Olympic Indoor Hall.

Marbury had averaged 4.2 points and shot 20 percent from the field, including 13 percent on three-pointers, in the first five games. On Thursday, he was 10 for 15 from the floor and 6 of 9 on three-pointers.

"Stephon controlled the game from horn to horn," said U.S. center Tim Duncan. "He was great. Shot the ball very well, very confident. I know he came in (Wednesday) and worked out on our day off trying to get ready for this. He was prepared to play the game."

Marbury broke the U.S. Olympic single-game scoring mark of 30 points shared by Charles Barkley (1992) and Adrian Dantley (1976).

The six three-pointers were also a U.S. record. Reggie Miller had five against China in 1996.

"When I first came here, coach (Larry) Brown said I should only score by accident," said Marbury. "I shouldn't worry about scoring. I should just go out and play. I'm just trying to be a leader on the court, play as hard as I can and try to win the gold medal.

"But I went to the gym Wednesday because I knew I was capable of shooting the ball better. Repetition is the key when you're not shooting the ball well."

The United States advanced to Friday's semifinals against Argentina, which defeated Greece in Thursday's quarterfinal. The gold- and bronze-medal games are Saturday. The United States has won gold in 12 of its previous 14 Olympic appearances, including all three since NBA players became eligible in 1992.

But the two American losses here equaled the total number in Olympic play before this year. Spain seemed capable of leaving the United States without an Olympic medal for the first time, but now it plays Friday for seventh place.

"This is very bad and has to be changed," Spain coach Mario Pesquera said of the format.

Spain was seeking its best finish since getting silver in 1984 and fell to 0-8 all-time against the United States in Olympic play. Spain had beaten the United States in the 2002 world championships fifth-place game.

"It's very hard for us to lose," said Spain's 7-foot-1 Pau Gasol, the Memphis Grizzlies all-star who scored 29 points in a 40-minute effort. "They have dangerous players, but we were confident of a good game if they continued to play the way they have so far. They were very sharp."

Spain guards Jose Manuel Calderon and Juan Carlos Navarro added 19 and 17 points. Spain outrebounded the United States 36-30 and shot well and made 49 percent (34 of 70) of its shots from the field.

But the United States shot slightly better - 51 percent (36 of 71). Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson drilled a trio of three-pointers and finished with 16 points. Carlos Boozer, spelling the foul-plagued Duncan, scored 12 points, and Lamar Odom had 11 before fouling out with 5:29 left.The United States had a hot shooting hand from the outset and never lost it. The Americans built a nine-point second-quarter lead, only to see Spain inch ahead with an 11-0 run. The United States led 44-43 at halftime, but it didn't take the lead for good until Iverson's jumper with 2:06 left in the third quarter made it 65-63.

"We kept the lead in the first half despite some severe foul trouble," Brown said. "We shot the ball, moved the ball better, and we only had eight turnovers. That had been a problem throughout the tournament.

"But this was a great game. Gasol was incredible. They hurt us on dribble penetration. But taking care of the ball better, taking good shots and having our bench help got us through when Duncan and Odom were in foul trouble."

Just after the game ended, Pesquera wagged his finger at Brown and had angry words with him. Pesquera was upset that the United States had a timeout in the final few seconds when the victory was sealed. Brown explained later he had asked for the timeout earlier, when the game was closer, to set his defense. When it was not immediately granted, it was saved until the next stoppage and then awarded by the scorer's table, even though Brown didn't want it anymore.

"I tried to apologize and explain to the Spanish coach, but he didn't want to listen," Brown said.

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