LOS ANGELES – Another exhibition game against China, another no-doubt victory for the U.S. Men’s National Team.
Much like Sunday’s first matchup between USA and China at STAPLES Center, China hovered close through the first few minutes Tuesday before Team USA started pulling away, getting some help from DeAndre Jordan in getting the lead to double digits late in the first quarter Tuesday in a 107-57 victory at Oracle Arena.
Jordan received nearly 10 minutes of action Tuesday, recording six points, five rebounds, two blocks and an assist, throwing down three dunks.
Team USA led by eight points when Jordan first entered in the first quarter. In his first minute of action, he’d already slammed down the first of his three dunks. By the end of the first quarter, Jordan posted four points, two rebounds and a block in fewer than five minutes, and Team USA had doubled its lead.
After not playing in the second quarter, Jordan started the second half, posting two points, three rebounds and a block in five minutes of action during a third quarter in which Carmelo Anthony took over with 16 of USA’s 32 points.
By the end of the third quarter, Team USA led by 45 points, as its defense stifled China’s attack once again. Tuesday’s 50-point win was basically a repeat of two days prior, as China ended up scoring the same number of points as it did at STAPLES Center, while the USA scored one more point Tuesday than it did back in Los Angeles.
“The one thing we should be able to do better than everyone is play defense,” said head coach Mike Krzyzewski. “Other teams can score. A lot of them have real good 3-point shooters. And we do, too. But we should be a better defensive team than those other teams.”
DeMarcus Cousins (21 points) and Anthony (20 points) led the way offensively Tuesday, with each player hitting seven shots. Cousins also led Team USA with 11 rebounds, followed by Draymond Green’s seven. The early offensive struggles that arose in the first matchup against China never showed up Tuesday, as USA scored at least 23 points every quarter and shot 50 percent from the floor.
DeMar DeRozan nearly tore down the arena with an attempted 360 dunk, despite getting contested and fouled. Despite narrowly missing the daring attempt, it played no impact in the outcome, as Team USA cruised to its third straight victory to start Olympic exhibition play.
The U.S. Men’s National Team will now head to Chicago for training and its fourth exhibition game of the summer July 29 against Venezuela.