Team USA trounces Serbia in FIBA World Cup championship
MADRID — The USA beat Serbia 129-92 Sunday in the championship game of the FIBA World Cup.
WHAT HAPPENED
Oh, say can you see ...
... a basketball world in which the Americans don't rule all?
It was tough to imagine again after Team USA's overwhelming gold medal performance against Serbia, a FIBA World Cup finale that was over by halftime but wildly entertaining until the end.
And so much for Serbia or any other team in this global field taking advantage of this allegedly undermanned squad.
We'll never know, of course, but it's tough to even envision host Spain (shockingly eliminated by France in the quarterfinals) giving the Americans a game with the way they finished this tournament. Not only did they overcome the absences of half a dozen or so NBA All-Stars and the Paul George injury that left everyone in this proud program rattled, but they also extended their winning streak to 63 games (including 18 exhibitions) in the sort of one-sided fashion (a 33-point average margin of victory) that left no question about this group's prowess.
The Americans became just the third team to win back-to-back FIBA titles and won their fifth overall, and they did it despite putting a small scare into the homeland before the rout was on. The win means they automatically qualify for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
The all-tournament team announced after the game featured Team USA's Kyrie Irving and Kenneth Faried as well as Serbia's Milos Teodosic, France's Nicolas Batum and Spain's Pau Gasol. Irving was named tournament MVP.
WHY IT HAPPENED
The funny thing about covering the international game is that — no matter how dominating the Americans are — it always feels like a shocking upset is possible. That's probably due largely to the lack of familiarity with the non-USA opponents, not to mention the emotional aspect of that game that has a different feel when an underdog finds a passionate rhythm and looks capable or riding it until the end.
Beating the Americans would be such a point of pride for all of these teams that you always wonder what that kind of motivation might do. And then, this Team USA squad that could be deemed underdogs in their own right would make you feel nothing short of silly for entertaining such a notion.
Such was the case midway through the first quarter, when the Serbians had hit all seven of their shots and jumped out to a 15-7 lead that had the American writers on hand (all eight or so of us) wondering if this might be history in the making.
James Harden scored six consecutive points (a three-point play and three-pointer) to spark a 31-6 run that featured Irving at his absolute best and Cousins in the rare hero role. Having entered averaging just 10.4 points per game in the tournament, Irving hit seven of nine shots (including all four of his three-pointers) in the first half for 18 points. You half expected to see new Cleveland Cavaliers teammate LeBron James dancing courtside as he did in the 2013 All-Star Game in which their basketball bro-mance was first on global display.
But the Cousins component was simply huge, as he entered at the 7:38 mark when Anthony Davis drew his second foul and made the kind of impact that surely had Sacramento Kings general manager Pete D'Alessandro smiling in the stands. Cousins was a force at both ends, grabbing six rebounds in approximately six minutes of play and getting his memorable night off to an incredible start. He finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Irving led the Americans with 26 points, while Harden had 23.
WHAT WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT
Take your pick.
• Irving and how his many magical moments whet the appetites of Cavs fans who are already dreaming of what he'll look like playing next to James and Kevin Love next season?
• The pride felt by all involved in this Jerry Colangelo-and-Mike Krzyzewski-led program that built such a solid structure from 2006 on that the depth of American basketball could be on display at times like these.
• Faried and Klay Thompson and how they reminded their respective teams (the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors) why they should be careful not to undervalue their superb skills.
he story lines were many with this group, and they were all positive. A job incredibly well done.
WHAT'S NEXT
Nothing anytime soon, and therein lies the point. Had the Americans lost in this gold medal game, they would have been forced to qualify for the 2016 Olympics by way of the FIBA Americas tournament next summer. Now they get the year off before the Rio de Janeiro challenge awaits.
