USA Basketball romped Finland in their opening game on Saturday, but yesterday’s follow-up against Turkey did not go as planned. The USA was down by five at halftime, and needed Anthony Davis and Kenneth Faried to step up before they were able to pull away. One bucket by Davis, who scored all of his 19 points in the second half, was a one-handed alley-oop you have to see again.
Klay Thompson uses Davis’ screen to drive into the paint and finds the young Pelicans Rubberband Man for the pretty one-handed flush off the lob.
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After The Brow started the first half 0-for-2, he was 8-of-9 the rest of the way for his 19 points. Faried finished with a team-high 22 points in a 98-77 win that was much closer than the final score. Still, it’s important to remember the USA had to defeat this same Turkey team to win the 2010 World Championships, so it’s not like they’re a pushover; although, Omer Asik is the only Turkish team member to play in the NBA.
(vine via @gifdsports; GIF via @CJZero)
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