U.S. blows out Serbia to capture gold at FIBA World Cup
The Americans easily toppled the Serbians 129-92 on Sunday to finish atop the podium at the FIBA World Cup.
It was close for approximately five minutes in the first quarter when everything broke right for Serbia. Anthony Davis succumbed to foul trouble, picking up a pair just three minutes into the game, which exacerbated the Americans' porous perimeter defense. Serbia used a dribble-drive game, led by Bogdan Bogdanovic and Milos Teodosic, to parade to the basket. Serbia connected on its first seven field goal attempts and led 15-7 with under six minutes to go in the first quarter.
Then everything went south for Serbia.
Team USA's perimeter defenders picked up the pressure, and the duo of James Harden and Kyrie Irving caught fire. The Americans finished the remainder of the quarter on a 28-7 run, carrying a 16-point advantage into the second. Irving led the way with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
The rout continued in the second when Serbia's defense fared no better, conceding yet another 30-plus point quarter. Team USA stayed hot from the perimeter, with their bigs easily cleaning up the occasional stray rebound. Rudy Gay used his quickness to exploit Serbia's defense as a small-ball four, and DeMarcus Cousins filled in admirably for Davis as a defensive anchor. The score was 67-41 at halftime.
From thereon, the game was effectively over. The Americans stretched their lead to 38 after three frames.
Irving and Harden were easily the most impressive offensive players on the night. Harden scored 23 points while connecting on 8-of-11 attempts from the field, while Irving topped him with 26 points on 10-for-13 shooting. Both players played under 25 minutes, yet finished a plus-24 and plus-35, respectively.
Defensively, Cousins played the role of rim-protector to great effect. In a little more than 16 minutes of play, Cousins grabbed nine rebounds and two blocks while ranking an impressive plus-31 on the game.
Serbia was led in scoring by small forward Nemanja Bjelica, who scored 18 points. Bogdanovic finished with 15 points and Teodosic scored 10.
After the game, Irving was named tournament MVP. He connected on more than half of his three-point attempts across nine games and provided stability at the point for the championship squad.
Irving was also named to the all-tournament team along with Faried, Teodosic, Spanish center Pau Gasol and French forward Nicolas Batum.
The tournament victory automatically qualifies the U.S. for the upcoming 2016 Olympics.