Finally...

Turkey 93-92 in overtime, was drama-free.

It was 13-0 before Japan scored, 23-9 after a quarter, 56-23 at halftime and 73-25 midway through the third quarter when Hachimura got loose for a dunk and his first points of the night. Somehow, matters could have been even worse for Japan: The U.S. missed seven of eight shots during one first-quarter stretch and finished shooting 48% for the game.

“I think we’ve got a lot of room for improvement,” Brown said.

TIP-INS

Japan: The Japanese missed their first six shots, and went 5:48 without a field goal until center Nick Fazekas rattled in a short jumper . ... Japan doesn’t play the U.S. often, and when the matchup happens it’s one-sided. The Americans are 3-0 against Japan in the Olympics, winning by a combined 183 points (98-40 in 1956, 125-66 in 1960 and 99-33 in 1972). The teams hadn’t previously met in World Cup play.

U.S.: The Americans held a 58-33 rebounding edge . ... Harris replaced Jayson Tatum in the starting lineup. Tatum is out with a sprained left ankle and isn’t scheduled to be reevaluated again until Monday . ... Marcus Smart (left quad strain) also missed the game, so the U.S. was down to 10 healthy players and two of its four Boston Celtics . ... The Americans were flying to Shenzhen after the game.

3 FOR 3

This tournament marks the 36th different Olympics, World Cup or world championships appearance for USA Basketball. The Americans have now started 3-0 in those events 34 times, going 106-2 overall in their opening three matchups of those competitions. And this is the 19th time in those 36 tournaments where the U.S. average victory margin in the first three games was 25 points or more.

BIGGEST MARGINS

The only victory margins bigger than the one the U.S. enjoyed Thursday so far in this tournament: Serbia’s 59-point win over the Philippines and Lithuania’s 54-point win over Senegal.

POP ON RUI

Hachimura worked out for Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs before the draft, and left a positive impression on the U.S. and Spurs coach. “He knows what he can do, puts himself in position to be successful and score, plays D, rebounds, runs the floor,” Popovich said. “He’s got an all-around game. His confidence is growing and he’ll be a fine player, obviously, and have a very long career.”

UP NEXT

Japan: Faces New Zealand in a classification round game Saturday at Dongguan, China.

U.S.: Faces Greece in a second-round game Saturday at Shenzhen, China./ap