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Rio de Janeiro • The scene that unfolded Tuesday afternoon in the Olympic basketball tournament was not exactly what Jazz guard Raul Neto pictured in advance of the Games in his home country.
This stuff was even better, actually. "I couldn't imagine how it was going to be," Neto said after celebrating Brazil's 66-65 upset of Spain with his parents and younger brother in the stands of the packed, frenzied Carioca Arena.
Brazil lost the 11-point lead that Neto had helped his team build early in the fourth quarter, but Marcus Marquinhos' tip-in with 5.5 seconds remaining delivered a memorable victory in Group B preliminary play.
"It was a little crazy at the end, but I was so happy to be part of that," Neto said.
NBA veteran Pau Gasol led Spain with 13 points and 10 rebounds, but he missed two free throws with 23.7 seconds left and his team ahead by one point. That gave Brazil a chance, and Marquinhos delivered the winning tip after Marcelo Huertas' driving shot bounced softly off the rim.
The buzzer sounded during a scramble for the rebound after Spain's Sergio Llull missed a wild, driving attempt following a timeout. The runner-up in the last two Olympic tournaments and the group favorite again, Spain now has lost to Croatia and Brazil by a total of two points. "Until somebody says different, we've got a chance," said NBA veteran Jose Calderon. "Just qualify for the [quarterfinals]; you never know what will happen."
That's certainly case so far in Group B. Tuesday's game was an adventure of its own, with Brazil leading by nine points in the third quarter, allowing Spain to tie the game and then surging ahead by 11, before the teams went back and forth in the last five minutes.
Neto was on the court for most of Brazil's 11-0 run spanning the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth period. He made a 3-pointer in the second quarter and added two assists in nine minutes, with both passes leading to 3-point plays.
Neto had played the whole second half Sunday when Brazil rallied from 29 points down to within four of Lithuania, before losing 82-76. The opposite trend developed Tuesday, after Neto's stint in the second half. Huertas, a veteran point guard who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, performed well for most of Tuesday's game. He scored 11 points and reduced Neto's playing time.
Even so, Neto continues to play confidently in this setting, after appearing in 81 games as an NBA rookie. "This past year with the Jazz helped me a lot — all this confidence I have," he said. "I'm a different player from two years ago, and I just keep doing my thing."
Playing against Huertas and Neto, Ricky Rubio of the Minnesota Timberwolves recorded three points and zero assists in 16 minutes.
Twitter: @tribkurt —
Story lines
• Brazil's 66-65 upset drops Group B favorite Spain to 0-2 in the Olympic basketball tournament.
• Jazz guard Raul Neto contributes three points and two assists in nine minutes, with veteran point guard Marcelo Huertas re-establishing himself.
• Brazil (1-1) meets Croatia on Thursday and Argentina on Saturday as preliminary play continues.