Former Suns F Mikal Bridges Powers USA to World Cup Semifinals

Team USA blew by Italy in 100-63 fashion earlier this morning to advance to the 2023 FIBA World Cup Semifinals, and former Phoenix Suns forward Mikal Bridges played a massive role in helping the red, white and blue.

Bridges' 24 points led both squads on the night, and he was the lone starter for the Americans to hit double-digits in scoring.

Other starters:

Jalen Brunson: 9 points
Jaren Jackson Jr.: 2 points
Anthony Edwards: 3 points
Josh Hart: 5 points

Bridges shot 8-11 on the night and snagged six rebounds, one assist, two steals and one block.

The United States did see two bench players (Tyrese Haliburton with 18 and Austin Reaves with 12) score in double digits in an overall tremendous shooting night for the team, shooting 53.7% from the field and 47.2% from three.

Italy saw the exact opposite, with 30.7% shooting from the field and just 18.4% from beyond the arc. Team USA outrebounded Italy in 51-33 fashion, too.

It was a nice bounce back performance for the U.S. after losing to Lithuania the game prior.

Fans in the Valley certainly miss Bridges after he was involved in the massive trade that landed Kevin Durant in Phoenix at last year's trade deadline alongside Cam Johnson. Both have impressed the Brooklyn Nets and figure to be key pieces moving forward.

Johnson himself didn't feature much for the United States vs. Italy, playing just ten minutes and shooting 0-2 in that time, though he's came up big before in previous games.

To complete the quarterfinals, Germany will take on Latvia while Canada will battle Slovenia.