US shows tenacity vs. Venezuela

CHICAGO—Moments after his successful return to Chicago with the U.S. national team, Jimmy Butler pulled on a T-shirt with a picture of Brazilian soccer star Pele on the front. Yup, it’s almost time. Kyrie Irving scored 13 points, DeMarcus Cousins powered a dominant performance in the paint, and the United States pulled away from Venezuela for an ugly 80-45 exhibition victory Friday night.

Coming off three straight flashy victories in Las Vegas and California, the United States used a strong fourth quarter to shoot 42.4 percent from the field in by far its worst offensive performance of its five-city tour in preparation for the Rio Olympics. But the Americans used their superior athleticism to limit Venezuela to 24 percent shooting and owned the interior with a 54-29 rebounding advantage.

“Quite frankly, I’m very pleased about tonight because you don’t just want to just hit 17 3s and not work hard,” U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “We had to work real hard tonight.”

Butler, a two-time All-Star with the Bulls, had four points and eight rebounds in 21 1/2 minutes in his first start with Team USA. He was cheered every time he was announced at the United Center.

“This is like home for me now,” Butler said. “I’m glad that I got to play here for USA in front of my hometown crowd. They’ve embraced me since Day 1. I hope they continue to do so. I want to win with the Bulls. I want to win with USA and bring a championship with the Bulls and a gold medal here.”