A novelty in the American starting five with the arrival of Josh Hart in place of Brandon Ingram. A defensive choice which is immediately felt since the Americans suffocate entry Jordan with a 20-4 after five minutes. Anthony Edwards is already levitating. Dunk, muscular drive, mid-range address… The back of the Wolves is boiling hot to the point of signing 13 points and 6 rebounds in the first quarter. In its wake, Team USA is easily detached (31-12) and Steve Kerr can turn.
Thanks to the talent of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, the match is balanced and the Jordanian Kobe Bryant makes appreciate his technique and his aggressiveness. And even when he badly twists his ankle, he stays on the field to bring permanent danger (36-21). When the Americans relax a bit, with a more personal Brandon Ingram than his teammates, Kerr puts Edwards and Hart back into play, and everything changes. The gap reached 32 points on a big dunk from Jaren Jackson Jr, and after a huge miss from Anthony Edwards on an alley-oop, Team USA joined the locker room with a 29-point lead (62-33). Edwards is at 18 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in… 12 minutes, and the Americans have lost only two balls.
Next opponent: Nikola Vucevic’s Montenegro
Unsurprisingly, the second half was one-sided, and the Americans were in “show time” mode with Jaren Jackson Jr on the block and tap, and Anthony Edwards for the windmill (75-39). The difficulty for Team USA is not to fall into “hooray basketball” because Jordan no longer offers anything, like an erased Hollis-Jefferson. It is for this reason that Kerr opens his bench, and seriously, Brandon Ingram crosses the bar of 40 points difference (87-46).
The last quarter is of the same ilk with Tyrese Haliburton in the creation, Walker Kessler for the intimidation and Austin Reaves who flies away for a nice tap. On arrival, the United States won 110-62 and remained undefeated in the competition. Once again, Edwards led the way with 22 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists in 19 minutes. Now it’s time for things a little more serious against Montenegro first, then Lithuania.
Stats and video summary to come
