A Victory Not Quite The Stuff Of Dreams
For any other basketball team in the world, the margin of victory would have  been considered more than comfortable. But the words margin of victory are the curse of the Dream Team, part of an unreachable standard it has been assigned to reach.
The United States men's basketball team's 96-68 victory over Argentina tonight looked and sounded as expected at the finish, with a flurry of American  dunks punctuating a noisy night in the Georgia Dome. But Argentina, led by Juan  Espil's 27 points, trailed by just 2 points at the half and was still within 5 points with 16 minutes 55 seconds to play.
David Robinson led the United States with 18 points and Shaquille O'Neal had 13. But the overwhelming defense and the efficiency that were taken for granted, merely because some of the National Basketball Association's best players had agreed to give up a few weeks of their summers, was missing for much of the night. And most significantly, so was the look of fear in the eyes of their opponents.
Perhaps helped by a 10-minute loss of half the arena's lights, Argentina succeeded in making the Americans appear uncomfortable and edgy for much longer  than anyone expected.
The lights went out with 12:35 to go in the first half and Argentina leading  by 15-14. Stuart Ashe, the site manager for basketball, said that an engineer caused half of the lights to go out when he hit a wrong switch. The light was restored at first by the use of a backup system. This would not be the last American mistake of the night.
At the time, the capacity crowd had reason to believe that the 10-minute delay was the only way to slow the Dream Team for that long a period. During the pre-Olympic tour, which felt more like a post-Games victory tour than a preparation for a serious competition, the Americans spoke of an overwhelming defensive presence that would become a trademark.
Instead, the United States suffered a series of breakdowns that allowed Argentina to slow the pace, stay close and neutralize the crowd.
Hanging around was a concept that did not apply to the team that won the gold medal at Barcelona. The first United States Olympic basketball team with N.B.A.  professionals won its eight games by an average of 43.8 points, with the closest margin of victory being the 32-point gold medal decision over Croatia.
Tonight the Dream Team was winning by 2 points at halftime. Its breakdowns were particularly hard to explain because they came against a nation that has never finished better than fourth in an Olympic tournament, and has not taken part since 1952.
The combination of fear and reverence held by the rest of the field in 1992 seemed a distant memory in the first half tonight. Juan Espil, a 6-foot-3-inch forward, scored 20 points by halftime. The Americans committed 14 turnovers in the half, with just 8 assists. But perhaps the most surprising achievement by Argentina was its ability to score 8 of its 13 first-half field goals in the paint. Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon and O'Neal, three of the finest centers in the  N.B.A., did not establish much of a fear factor tonight.
Not that the struggle bothered the ticket holders. During the brownout, the crowd amused itself by searching for celebrities, and cheering Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was spotted in the semi-darkness. There had been little talk of competition, until now. On Thursday, during a packed news conference, Robinson was asked if the game against Argentina would seem more like a practice.
"I don't know," he said. "Our practices are pretty good."
Suddenly, one could ask if the practices have been good enough.
In an earlier game between teams with medal hopes, Lithuania overcame the loss of its three best players -- Arvydas Sabonis and Sarunas Marciulionis to fouls and Arturas Karnishovas to an ankle injury -- and 33 points by Croatia's Toni Kukoc to survive in a potentially pivotal 83-81 double-overtime victory.
Rimas Kurtinaitis, a 6-4 guard and, at 36, the oldest player on the Lithuania roster, scored 9 of his 12 points in the last 2:57 of the second overtime. His 4-point play, a 3-point shot from the left side and a foul shot, gave Lithuania  a 78-77 lead.
Three foul shots by Kukoc, who played with a broken thumb on his shooting hand, put Croatia ahead by 2 points with 2:44 to go. But failures on the next two possessions gave Lithuania its chance.
ATLANTA: DAY 2 -- BASKETBALL