FIBA World Cup: Knicks' Hart Starts, USA Rolls in Group Victory
New York Knicks stars Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart drastically outplayed Jordan on Wednesday.
That means something quite different at the FIBA Basketball World Cup but nonetheless counted toward the preliminary group play standings in Asia. Together with the rest of the United States' men's national basketball team, Brunson and Hart coasted to a 110-62 victory over that of Jordan's to close their Group C slate in Manila.
Team USA (3-0) had first place in Group C locked up before they took the floor at SM Mall of Asia Arena but handled business efficiently. Hart benefitted from the consequence-free stakes as head coach Steve Kerr placed him in the starting lineup in place of former New Orleans Pelicans teammate Brandon Ingram.
Hart, fresh off an 11-rebound showing off the bench against Greece on Monday, rewarded Kerr's faith with a dozen boards while also dishing out three assists.
"We just felt like it was important to have a look at Josh with the starting group and Brandon with the next group and see if the combinations fit," Kerr claimed in the aftermath, per FIBA's official site. "I liked what I saw. The game wasn't competitive, but it was a good flow from both groups. We'll see. We haven't made any decision moving forward, but we just wanted to look at some things."
Vincent Carchietta, USA TODAY Sports
Brunson's offensive magic was hardly necessary in the win but he nonetheless reached double-figures again with 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting, pairing that output with four assists. He was one of four Americans who scored at least 10 and every red, white, and blue entrant got onto the scoresheet. Anthony Edwards (Minnesota) led the way with 22.
The game's instantly one-sided nature, which saw the Americans lead 31-12 after the first 10 minutes, allowed Team USA's stars to get some work amidst healthy resting for second-round play. Only one American, Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana) played more than 20 minutes in Wednesday's wire-to-wire triumph.
"Guys like Tyrese (Haliburton), Austin (Reaves), Jalen Brunson, everybody ... all 12 of us can put the ball through the hoop," Edwards said, lauding the American depth. "We just feed off of one another, that's super important that we got that depth."
Jordan (0-3), destined for consolation play, was drastically overmatched from the get-go, failing to reach 20 points as a team in three of the four periods. Former Brooklyn Net Rondae Hollis-Jefferson led the team with 20 points in defeat, capping off a preliminary play trio that saw him average 27.7 a game.
Team USA will remain in Manila to partake in second round pool play, joining a group that will feature Group D victors Lithuania and Montenegro, as well as the Group C runner-up (either Greece or New Zealand). The Americans open up against Montenegro on Friday at a time to be determined.
