Team USA moves to 1-0 in Group C play with a dominant performance against Finland.
Team Leaders:
Points – Klay Thompson (18)
Rebounds – DeMarcus Cousins (10)
Assists – Stephen Curry (5)
Steals – James Harden (4)
Blocks – 3 tied with 1
From start to finish, Team USA showed against Finland why it is a 1-to-2 favorite to win the World Cup. With four players in double figures, the Americans routed their opponent 114-55 and held Finland with out a field goal in the second quarter.
Klay Thompson led the way in scoring, finishing with a game-high 18 points on 7-10 shooting, including a 4-for-6 mark from 3-point range. Anthony Davis finished with 17 points and was virtually unstoppable while he was on the court. He did not block a shot, but he forced plenty of tough shots and forced passes that led to many of Finland’s 31 turnovers.
Derrick Rose put his athleticism on display, showing levels of quickness and elusiveness that were present before his initial knee injury. He finished a powerful two-handed tomahawk dunk in the second quarter that sent the team’s bench into hysterics. He will continue to be a major factor in the World Cup.
Inside, the Sacramento Kings duo of DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay filled the backup post spots behind Davis and Kenneth Faried. Cousins finished with a near double-double (nine points, 10 rebounds) and was nearly impossible to push off the block. In a group devoid of many quality big men, Cousins will continue to be difficult to handle inside.
The starting backcourt of Irving, Curry and Harden were very effective in getting easy looks for themselves and teammates in transition, though the trio combined to go just 1-for-7 from 3-point range. Given the level of success the three have had behind the NBA 3-point line, which is farther away, an improvement can be expected for the remainder of the tournament.
Finland was led by scoring guard Petteri Koponen, who finished with 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting to go with four assists. His draft rights are held by the Dallas Mavericks, and he is one of two players on the Finnish roster that have been selected in the NBA Draft. The other, former Florida Gator Erik Murphy, finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. In opposition to the NBA stars, Finland could not handle the tempo of the game or the Americans’ length, which led to 31 turnovers and a pedestrian 27.7 percent shooting from the floor.
The Americans were too much to handle for the Finland squad, and they illustrated why they should continue to be referred to as the favorite in the World Cup. With an incredibly deep roster, the NBA stars should dispatch the four remaining teams in group C just as they did against Finland.
Team USA will face Turkey on Aug. 31 at 3:30 p.m. EST. The game will be telecast on ESPN.
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