Argentina falls before USA but Olympic hope remains

The US Olympic team blew hot and cold but had enough scoring punch to hold off Argentina 86-80 in a bruising pre-Olympics exhibition game at Palau Sant Jordi.

Kevin Durant led the defending Olympic champion Americans with 27 points and Kobe Bryant added 18, while Manu Ginobili paced Argentina with 23 points.

Argentina came within four at 78-74 with less than three minutes to go but the United States held them off with three-pointers from Durant and Chris Paul and some physical inside work by LeBron James.

A red-hot start for the Americans turned icy cold in the second quarter.

The US team sank their first seven shots of the game, including a trio of three-pointers by NBA scoring champion Durant as they stormed to a 16-1 lead and a 31-16 lead after the first quarter at Palau Sant Jordi.

Argentina, the 2008 bronze medalists and 2004 Olympic champions, fought back to trail 47-40 at the intermission after falling behind by as many as 20 points at 39-19.

The Americans surged again at the start of the third quarter, scoring the first seven points in an 11-3 run, but saw another 20-point lead evaporate.

Argentina, spurred by seven points from Carlos Delfino, outscored the US 12-3 at the end of the quarter to make it 72-61 heading into the fourth.

The US team will play their final tune-up match before heading to London against Spain on Tuesday in a rematch of their gold medal game in Beijing.