Coming off of yesterday’s blowout victory over New Zealand, USA Basketball was back in action this afternoon in a rematch of their second exhibition matchup vs. the Dominican Republic, in which the US dominated 105-62.
With the idea to rest and replenish for their Group C preliminary round finale vs. Turkey tomorrow night, Francisco Garcia sat out today’s game to make sure he has fresh legs in the Dominican Republic’s final push to advance to the Round of 16. Should they come out victorious tomorrow, they will have finished their preliminary round schedule with a surprising 3-2 record. In the meantime, a severely outmatched competitor against the United States was even less equipped to make noise this afternoon, without their top gun and only NBA talent on the roster.
The United States came out with the intent to smother the opposition early, as they applied full-court pressure after made baskets and dead balls from the jump, but were unsuccessful in the first 10 minutes of the ballgame. The Dominican Republic handled it pretty well in the first quarter and were able to get into the paint off of their pick ‘n roll play, which has been tough for the US to defend in this tournament. On the defensive end, the Dominicans hit Team USA with 2-3 zone coverage in hopes of clogging the lane and making life as tough as possible around the rim. To some degree, it was marginally effective but really only because they weren’t attacked inside-out. Team USA’s advantage in terms of size and mobility is ridiculous, but they didn’t go at them like they should have.
Unfortunately, the US starting five was unable to establish any kind of rhythm early on, as 13 of their 25 first quarter points came from the bench. They held just a three-point lead after one and even though the United States put together a double-digit lead by halftime, they certainly played far from their best basketball on either end of the floor. In fact, the starters were stagnant and seemed almost disinterested at times, as if their opponent was nothing to worry about.
Their offense was completely bailed out by the strong play off the bench, lead by DeMarcus Cousins’ nine first half points, and their defensive resistance was particularly dissatisfying. Anthony Davis may have swatted four shots in the first half, but Coach K and Tom Thibodeau surely had something to say about the team’s overall weak dribble-penetration protection. The Dominican Republic was able to consistently attack the lane off the bounce, especially from the likes of Edgar Sosa, and maintained admirable poise. Even so, a high-energy run to close the half helped the United States build as quiet of a 15-point lead as you could imagine by intermission.
As you would expect, the second half was a completely different story.
The United States first unit finally began to establish pace with a sense of urgency, lead by the defensive prowess of Anthony Davis and yet another absolutely outstanding performance from Kenneth Faried. This guy just doesn’t have an off switch, and you can’t help but love him for it. Team USA controlled the paint in the third quarter and jumped on the Dominican Republic’s ball handlers to force a plethora of turnovers, finally allowing them to create multiple opportunities in transition. The US dominated the third frame defensively, leading to a 25-11 advantage which put the game completely out of reach.
Heading into the final 10 minutes of action, Team USA held an 81-52 advantage and coasted to the finish line with another blowout victory like everybody expected. The enormous lead was built predicated off of their bread and butter, converting turnovers and forced misses into an abundance of easy buckets on the break. Throughout the stretch consisting of the final few minutes of the third quarter and opening of the fourth, the US scored 22 unanswered points, bringing their lead to as high as 40.
After that run, the Dominican Republic’s body language and facial expressions screamed visible frustration. At that point, they just wanted this thing to end.
Anthony Davis wasn’t as aggressive offensively as he has been the last couple of games, but was an animal on the defensive end of the floor and rejected anything that came his way. The budding superstar finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and five blocks. His backup, DeMarcus Cousins, was equally impressive. “Boogie” came in off the bench and provided a much-needed spark in the first half, when the US was searching for an increased level of intensity, and was extremely active on both ends of the floor. In only 12 minutes of play, Cousins put up 13 points, grabbed five boards and repeatedly reached into the cookie jar to come away with six steals.
DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay also gave the team a big lift off the bench, as the super athletic swingmen combined for 20 points, seven rebounds and five steals. They did a great job putting their active hands to good use, jumping the passing lanes and stripping ball handlers at the top of the key. DeRozan also gave us the highlight of the game as he took off from outside the restricted area and finished an emphatic one-handed tomahawk slam. Mason Plumlee’s alley-oop lob to Andre Drummond was a nice piece of eye-candy, too.
Steph Curry put together a quality all-around performance, finishing with eight points, seven assists, six rebounds and a pair of long-range shots.
For the second straight game, all 12 United States players were able to score and this win clinches a Group C victory for USA Basketball.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Kenneth Faried’s contributions to this team can’t be stated enough. How often do you see a guy shoot 8-11 and actually drop his field goal percentage in the process? I almost feel like every time I speak on what he brought to the game, it is repetitive because you know exactly what you’re getting every single time. His energy and activity cannot be matched, he runs the floor as well as anyone in uniform, he gobbles up offensive boards, he does a terrific job trapping ball handlers on the defensive end and he just finds a way to efficiently put the ball in the basket without ever running a set for him. The Manimal is a joy to watch.
Dominican Republic – 71
USA – 106
Team USA will conclude their preliminary round schedule tomorrow at 11:30 am ET vs. Ukraine on ESPN2, before they gear up for the Round of 16 this weekend.