![Anthony Edwards Team USA vs Montenegro Fiba World Cup](https://sports.inquirer.net/files/2023/09/edwards-team-usa-montenegro-fiba-world-cup-620x413.jpg)
Team USA guard Anthony Edwards (10) shoots in front of Montenegro center Nikola Vucevic (4) during the second half of a Basketball World Cup second round match in Manila, Philippines Friday, Sept. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
MANILA, Philippines — Team USA got its first real test of the Fiba World Cup on Friday, and found a way to survive and remain unbeaten.
Barely.
Anthony Edwards scored 17 points, Austin Reaves had 12, Jaren Jackson Jr. added 11 and the Americans overcame a halftime deficit to beat Montenegro 85-73 in the second-round opener at the Fiba World Cup for both teams. It put the U.S. on the brink of clinching a spot in the quarterfinals.
Mikal Bridges and Tyrese Haliburton each scored 10 for Team USA (4-0).
Ant Edwards scored all of his 17 PTS in the second half to lead the #USABMNT to the W over Montenegro 🐜🇺🇸#FIBAWC | #WinForAll pic.twitter.com/iMaAaQBaXC
— NBA (@NBA) September 1, 2023
Nikola Vucevic had 18 points and 15 rebounds for Montenegro, which led 39-38 at the half. Kendrick Perry scored 14 for Montenegro (2-2).
The U.S. led 61-55 going into the fourth and tacked a point on to make it a seven-point edge — its biggest of the game to that point — early in the final quarter.
Montenegro just wouldn’t go away. A 3-pointer by Nikola Ivanovic got the underdogs within 64-62 with 7:15 remaining, and the Americans couldn’t exhale until the final seconds — a far cry from the way the first three games of the tournament went, with points coming in bunches and the U.S. winning every game by at least 27 points.
![Nikola Vucevic Montenegro vs Team USA Fiba World Cup](https://sports.inquirer.net/files/2023/09/nikola-vucevic-montenegro-usa-620x414.jpeg)
Montenegro center Nikola Vucevic (4) looks to shoot in front of U.S. center Walker Kessler (14) during the first half of a Basketball World Cup second round match in Manila, Philippines Friday, Aug. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
It was a bad first half for the U.S. by almost all statistical measures: The Americans shot 35% from the field, were just 1 for 9 from 3-point range, got outrebounded 28-17 and managed only nine points off 12 turnovers by Montenegro.
And the U.S. misfired on opportunities as well. Consider this sequence that started with 1:10 left in the half: Walker Kessler got a dunk off a pass from Edwards, got fouled, Montenegro was whistled for a technical as well. But the U.S. went just 1 for 3 on the ensuing free throws, and Kessler missed from layup range to end the possession.
It was a chance for a seven-point possession and the U.S. came away with only three.
TIP-INS
USA: The Americans were 26.5-point favorites at tip-off. … Kessler got earlier-than-usual minutes, in large part because of the success Montenegro’s big front line was having in the paint. Cam Johnson was not in Friday’s rotation. … Paolo Banchero played with a wrap on his right thumb, which he hurt on a pass in the Greece game.
Montenegro: Before Friday, Montenegro had only a 4-4 record this summer — 2-1 at the World Cup, 2-3 in exhibitions leading up to the tournament. … Perry is a Florida native, someone who played four years of college basketball at Youngstown State (averaging 16.2 points for his career) and briefly had time in the G League before spending the last decade or so in various international leagues.
GAME 1
Friday marked the first time the U.S. played the national team currently known as Montenegro at the senior men’s level. The U.S. beat the former Yugoslavia — made up of Serbia and Montenegro — in the gold-medal game at the 1996 Olympics.
SLOW START
Once again, the U.S. didn’t come out flying in the opening minutes. The Americans got down 14-4 to New Zealand and 6-2 to Greece to open those games, and found themselves in a quick 11-4 hole Friday.
UP NEXT
USA: Play Lithuania on Sunday.
Montenegro: Play Greece on Sunday.
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