Giannis Antetokounmpo, Greece remain winless at Paris Olympics - ESPN
Greece's hopes of advancing to the Paris Olympics knockout round suffered a devastating blow Tuesday with an 84-77 loss to Spain.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points and 11 rebounds for Greece, which fell to 0-2 in Group A.
After losing their opening games on Saturday, Greece and Spain both came out essentially playing for their tournament lives, with the loser facing a must-win scenario on Friday — and likely lots of help — to have any chance of advancing.
That team is now Greece, which will meet Australia in its final chance to earn a victory before the field is trimmed to eight teams. Antetokounmpo, the two-time NBA MVP and eight-time All-Star for the Milwaukee Bucks, has 61 points on 67.6% shooting in Greece's two losses.
Memphis Grizzlies forward Santi Aldama had 19 points and 12 rebounds while Sergio Llull scored 13 points for Spain, which improved to 1-1 with one group-stage game left to play against Canada.
After cutting a 14-point halftime deficit to one point early in the fourth quarter, Greece tied the score at 71 on an emphatic, driving left-handed dunk by Antetokounmpo over Aldama.
But Spain steadied over the next few minutes, scoring the next eight points.
«It's tough with a guy like him to make the defensive play,» Aldama said. «You can either make the defensive play or try to block the shot.… I tried, got (posterized), but next play.»
Greece pulled back to within 80-77 with 59 seconds left, but Antetokounmpo had a 3-pointer from the top of the key bounce off the rim.
Antetokounmpo set the tone for his team early, getting to the rim on multiple occasions, including a putback dunk over Usman Garuba.
Aldama did the same for Spain, leading all scorers out of the gate with 10 first-quarter points. He also got