US topples Greece

SHENZHEN, China — The MVP was good. The USA was better.

And the Antetokounmpo getting talked about most by the Americans when this muchanticipated World Cup matchup was over wasn’t Giannis — but rather Thanasis, the younger brother, who sent U.S. forward Harrison Barnes sprawling with an illadvised foul from behind on a fast break in the final moments.

Barnes avoided injury, and the U.S. avoided defeat. Kemba Walker scored 15 points and handed out six assists, Donovan Mitchell scored 10 on his 23rd birthday and the U.S. beat Greece 6953 to move on the cusp of qualifying for the quarterfinals.

“We played well,” Walker said. “We had a great game plan and we stuck to it and we were able to come out with a big win.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo, the NBA’s MVP from the Milwaukee Bucks, scored 15 points but sat out the fourth quarter in a move Greek officials said was made to rest him for the team’s lastditch effort to make the quarterfinals on Monday. He didn’t make himself available for postgame comment, telling officials that he was too upset.

The U.S. national team has won 57 consecutive games in international tournaments with NBA players, starting with the 2006 world championships bronzemedal game and continuing through every FIBA Americas, world championships, World Cup and Olympic event since.

Barnes and Derrick White each scored nine for the U.S., which can clinch a quarterfinal berth Monday in multiple ways — the simplest being a win over Brazil. There also are ways for the U.S. to move on even if it loses Monday.

It was the first time a reigning MVP faced the U.S. in a major tournament, and Giannis Antetokounmpo has made no secret of how much this event means to him. His eyes were closed as he mouthed along with the words of Greece’s national anthem pregame, and when the ball went up he came out firing.

He spun his way to a layup on the first possession, made a 3pointer on Greece’s second possession and got fouled on a baseline drive on the next trip down the floor. That was five points in the first 43 seconds for Antetokounmpo — but nothing came easy the rest of the way, as the U.S. used no fewer than five different defenders on him at times.

Barnes drew the initial assignment, followed by the MVP’s Milwaukee teammate Khris Middleton, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Myles Turner.

“We just wanted to make it as hard as possible for him, and I think we did a good job,” Smart said.