Derrick Rose finished with seven points to go with four rebounds and Team USA defeated Brazil 95-78 in an exhibition game at the United Center on Saturday night.
“I felt good,” said Rose following the game. “I wasn’t trying to rush anything and I played my normal way of playing basketball like I’ve been playing these past couple of weeks during the tryouts. That’s playing hard on defense and taking shots when I have shots and letting the game come to me.”
Rose, who started along with Stephen Curry, James Harden, Kenneth Faried and Anthony Davis, connected on one of two free throws in the early going. He left the game for a portion of the second quarter after sustaining a minor cut above his eye.
While it looked as if Rose may not return to action in the second quarter, USA Basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski reinserted him into the game with 4.6 seconds left in the first half. The Bulls star took the ball the entire length of the court and banked in a runner to give Team USA a 45-37 lead at intermission.
“Derrick has been magnificent since we started training camp,” said Krzyzewski. “He has never held back and really is one of the greatest guys in the whole world. I’m ecstatic for him and his play right at the end of the half, it really gave us some momentum. We started the second half that way too as a result of that play.”
Team USA was led by Anthony Davis, who recorded 20 points, eight rebounds and five blocks. James Harden scored 18 to go with five rebounds and five assists.
“I’m pleased with our team,” said Krzyzewski. “We’ve had a lot of interruptions and the one thing that hasn’t been interrupted has been effort. Our guys have played hard in every practice. They’re a really good group. To play an organized team, an outstanding team like Brazil like this tonight, was really encouraging for us.”
Up next for Rose and USA Basketball is a pair of exhibition games this week at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
“I’ve been preparing for this for a long time,” said Rose. “Probably if this was a couple weeks ago, I would have been emotional. But right now, it feels great. We won the game. That’s the only thing I can be happy about. We won and we didn’t lose. If we would have lost, my whole attitude would be different. I’ll just take this win, go to New York [on Sunday] and try to keep this going.”
Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau, an assistant for USA Basketball, was among many in the capacity crowd at the United Center who was happy to see Rose on the floor again.
“I couldn’t be more pleased with the way he played,” said Thibodeau.