NBA: United States advance in World Cup
The United States experienced a scare against Turkey in the second game of the first round of the 2019 FIBA World Cup, but they escaped with a 93-92 overtime victory and then went onto defeat Japan in the final group stage game. The United States opened the summer with three exhibition games prior to the tournament beginning and went just 2-1, losing for the first time in 70+ games. In the first game of the World Cup, though, they took down Czech Republic, 88-67. Donovan Mitchell led the team with 16 points, while Myles Turner grabbed seven rebounds in the victory. Point guard Kemba Walker had a team-high four assists. Then in Game 2, the United States nearly slipped up. Turkey led by two with just seconds remaining before Jayson Tatum was fouled shooting a three-pointer.
Tatum his two of three free throws, sending the game to overtime. In the extra period, Turkey once again led late but they missed four free throws in a row, which would have put the game away. On the other end, Khris Middleton was hit on a lay-up and he knocked down both free throws to put the United States up for good. Middleton led the team with 15 points, while Walker dished out seven assists. Ersan Ilyasova led Turkey with 23 points and 14 boards. In the last game of the group stage, the United States seemed to finally wake up with an embarrassing 98-45 victory over Japan. Jaylen Brown, who filled in during Tatum's absence, scored a game-high 20 points. The United States will advance to the second round of the tournament as they will play Greece and Brazil in the next four days.
Other teams that have really impressed during the first round are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, France, Serbia, and Spain. All six of those teams currently hold 3-0 records and will look to reach the quarterfinals. Argentina is led by Luis Scola, who played for the Houston Rockets, as he dropped 23 points and 10 rebounds against Nigeria. Australia has a host of current NBA players in Aron Baynes, Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova, Joe Ingles, and Patty Mills. Mills is averaging 21.7 points per game so far in the tournament. Brazil, who will play the United States on September 9th, is led by Leandro Barbosa. France has looked good as well, outscoring their opponents by an average of 29 points per game. Lastly, Serbia and Spain have big men Nikola Jokic and Marc Gasol to keep an eye on going forward.
Photo Credit: Bleacher Report.
