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FINAL: Team USA 83 | Australia 91
SUMMARY
Bradley Beal was one of three Team USA players to score in double-figures in the team’s 91-83 exhibition loss to Australia on Monday night at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Beal finished the night with 12 points on 4-6 (.667) shooting to go along with three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Beal started for the second game in a row, opening the game alongside Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant, Jerami Grant and Draymond Green. Beal got on the board less than two minutes into the game, scoring on a difficult driving layup to give Team USA an early three-point lead.
A 3-3 (1.000) start from Joe Ingles from beyond the arc helped Australia jump out to an early lead, but Team USA answered with a 20-6 run to take a 27-19 lead late in the first quarter. Beal finished the first quarter with a plus-five rating in seven minutes of action. He returned to the court with Team USA up by three with 7:01 left in the second quarter and helped lead the team to a 46-37 lead at half. The Wizards guard went into halftime with eight points – highlighted by a driving, two-hand dunk – to go along with two rebounds, two assists and a steal.
A 19-6 run from Australia to close the third quarter, capped by a buzzer-beating three-pointer, put Team USA behind 69-64 heading into the fourth quarter. Shortly thereafter, Beal scored twice in a span of just over a minute, capped by a reverse layup around two Australian defenders for his 12th point of the night. Team USA, however, couldn’t close a late Australian advantage. Beal’s 12 points trailed only Damian Lillard (22) and Kevin Durant (17) for Team USA, which will play its third of five exhibitions on Tuesday night against Argentina at 6:00 P.M. ET on NBCSN.