Defense carries U.S. in opener
Effort vs. Czechs bodes well for defending champs
The first big celebratory reaction from the U.S. bench in this World Cup came just a couple of minutes after tipoff, when Myles Turner blocked a shot at the rim. And with that, the tone was set.
There is an emphasis on defense with this U.S. team, and it was evident from the outset of its Group E opener on Sunday. Donovan Mitchell scored 16 points to lead a balanced scoring night, and the Americans steadily pulled away to beat the Czech Republic 88-67 to begin their quest for a third consecutive World Cup title.
“That’s got to be our calling card,” U.S. coach Gregg Popovich said. “We’re going to try to execute better and better as time goes on, but defensively we’ve got to put our money there. It’s what we have to be about to have an opportunity.”
Harrison Barnes added 14 points, Kemba Walker scored 13 and Jayson Tatum finished with 10 for the Americans. Turner had seven rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.
“As long as we win, that’s all that matters,” Tatum said.
Tomas Satoransky, a former Washington forward who was traded to Chicago over the summer, led the Czechs with 17 points.
Both teams play Tuesday. The U.S. will take on Turkey and the Czech Republic will oppose Japan. Greece 85, Montenegro 60: In Group F at Nanjing. NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo had 10 points and eight rebounds in only 16 minutes for Greece.
Australia 108, Canada 92: At Dongguan, Matthew Dellavedova scored 24 points, and Australia opened the fourth quarter on a huge run to pull away and beat Canada in a Group H opener. france 78, Germany 74: At Shenzhen, France opened the game on a 21-4 run and held on to beat Germany behind 26 points from Evan Fournier. Johannes Voigtmann scored 25 points and Dennis Schroder had 23 for Germany in the Group G opener. lithuania 101, senegal 47: At Dongguan, Lithuania had seven players in double figures and held Senegal to 29% shooting in a Group H opener. Domantas Sabonis, Jonas Valanciunas and Mantas Kalnietis each had 13 points to lead the winners.
Turkey 86, Japan 67: At Shanghai, Turkey got its Group E schedule started with a wireto-wire win over Japan behind 17 points apiece from Ersan Ilyasova and Melih Mahmutoglu. Rui Hachimura scored 15 points for Japan, as did Nick Fazekas. Dominican Republic 80, Jordan 76: At Shenzhen, Victor Liz scored 15 points to lead the Dominican Republic to a Group G win. Ahmad Al Dwairi had 34 points and 10 rebounds for Jordan, which got 24 points from Dar Tucker.
Brazil 102, new Zealand 94: At Nanjing, Brazil outscored New Zealand 28-12 in the third quarter and held on to win a Group F opener. Leandro Barbosa led Brazil with 22 points. Corey Webster scored 19 for New Zealand.