USA defeats Slovenia.

The United States men’s national basketball team defeated Slovenia 92-62 in an exhibition game in Malaga, Spain, on Wednesday (Feb. 13).

While the game was a win-or-lose affair, the two teams were in very different places heading into the game. 현금홀덤사이트 The United States, which won its first game against Puerto Rico in a blowout, had no significant absentees. Slovenia, on the other hand, was without ace Luka Doncic for the game, as Blatko Chančar recently went down with an ACL injury.

The U.S. held a 47-33 advantage in rebounds and had the edge in possessions. Scorer Anthony Edwards (15 points) again led the team in scoring, while point guards Jaylen Brunson (11 points, 8 assists) and Tyreese Halliburton (10 points, 6 assists) also played well. Even Austin Reeves (11 points) scored in double figures in an evenly matched rotation.

Slovenia, without Doncic, fell victim to a late fourth-quarter comeback that fell just short. Young P Gregor Glass, a 2001 graduate, led the way with 13 points, but no one else scored in double figures.

The U.S. pounded Slovenia with back-to-back baskets from Ingram, Bridges and Brunson, and even got a nice block from reigning Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. Back-to-back baskets from Edwards later extended the lead, and the U.S. got evenly matched contributions from its bench, ending the first quarter with a 27-20 lead.

In the second quarter, the U.S. extended its lead to double digits with Bobby Portis and Edwards coming up big. Slovenia, without Doncic, lacked the energy to stop the run. A Cam Johnson steal followed by a one-man fast break dunk to end the second quarter gave the U.S. a 47-31 lead heading into halftime.
To start the third quarter, the U.S. attacked Slovenia from the outside with Bridges and Ingram. Down by as many as 20, Slovenia looked to break through with back-to-back three-pointers, but the USA answered with outside shooting from Cam Johnson and Austin Reeves. Halliburton’s slick hedgehog move helped the Americans close out the third quarter with a 67-49 lead.

But the U.S. had a brief lull in the fourth quarter, allowing Slovenia to pull away. Not to be outdone, Slovenia pushed the lead to 13 points on a Glass three-pointer.

The rattled USA got baskets from Edwards and Bridges, and managed to withstand Slovenia’s pressure defense to get out of trouble. With their offense back on track, the U.S. gradually increased their lead in the final minutes of the game. Reeves and Halliburton found the rim, and Walker Kessler followed with a spin move to close out the scoring.

The U.S., looking to win the World Cup, will play defending champion Spain in an exhibition game on Thursday. The U.S. will then play Greece and Germany before kicking off its World Cup schedule on Sept. 26 against New Zealand.