Jaylen Brown scored 20 points, Kemba Walker added 15 and Team USA finally got to enjoy an easy night, rolling past Japan 98-45 in the Group E finale at the Fiba World Cup.
The US are accustomed to blowout wins, particularly when they have NBA players, hadn’t enjoyed one yet in six games against international competition this summer. The biggest victory margin before Thursday was 21 in the World Cup opener against the Czech Republic, and the US came into the group finale with a plus-59 scoring differential in four exhibitions and two World Cup games. This one, two days after the Americans needed late-game heroics to beat Turkey 93-92 in overtime, was drama-free.
Harrison Barnes scored 14 points while Joe Harris and Donovan Mitchell each had 10 for the Americans (3-0), who are bidding for an unprecedented third consecutive World Cup title. And now, the NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo awaits the Americans as the stakes get higher.
The US are headed to a pair of second-round games in Shenzhen, China, with the first one Saturday against Antetokounmpo and Greece. The Greeks claimed the 16th and final second-round berth with a win on Thursday night against New Zealand.
Yudai Baba scored 18 for Japan (0-3), which will play in classification games the rest of the way. Rui Hachimura, Japan’s best player and the No9 NBA draft pick this year by the Washington Wizards, was held to four points on two for eight shooting.
It was 13-0 before Japan scored, 23-9 after a quarter, 56-23 at halftime and 73-25 midway through the third quarter when Hachimura got loose for a dunk and his first points of the night. Somehow, matters could have been even worse for Japan: the U.S. missed seven of eight shots during one first-quarter stretch and finished shooting 48% for the game.