Preliminary group phase ends with another Team USA victory

While never experiencing a true hiccup, Team USA has made it through the preliminary group phase undefeated.

This became true after a, 110-62, blowout of Jordan Wednesday, Aug. 30 from the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila as the final installment of a three-game group phase to start this FIBA World Cup run. The 110 points are a tournament-high for the red, white and blue as the nation scored 100 points or more in back-to-back FIBA games for the first time since 2006.

Team USA concludes Group C play with a 3-0 record, winning games by an average of 34.3 points per game. Second round pool play is set to begin Friday, Sept. 1 against Montenegro.

It was all USA from the jump against Jordan as the men’s national team raced out to a 19-point lead in the first, starting with an 8-0 lead out the gate.

The only resistance came in the form of an 8-0 run by Jordan to open the second quarter but Team USA countered with a 15-3 run to take its largest lead of the game at that point at 32 points. Eventually, that lead would swell to 50 points before the final buzzer.

By the end of the game, the U.S. had made 49% of its shots from the field including 10 made three-pointers.

With everything working on offense, the 23 forced turnovers on defense was the icing on the cake. To make matters even sweeter, Team USA turned those 23 turnovers into 34 points the other way.

Guard Anthony Edwards scored 13 of his 22 points in the first quarter with a 2-for-2 mark from deep to go along with six early rebounds. He’s the first starter to lead the team in scoring along this year’s FIBA run.

Fellow starters Jaren Jackson Jr. and guard Jalen Brunson rounded out the double-digit scoring in the first group with 12 and 10 points respectively.

Guard Josh Hart got his first start of the tournament in place of forward Brandon Ingram. He recorded a game-high 12 rebounds in response.

Reserve forward Bobby Portis added 13 points while once again putting the finishing touches on the win in the fourth quarter. In such a lopsided win, Kerr emptied his bench with just under three and a half minutes left in the third quarter.