Stephen Curry tallied 20 points to lead all scorers as Team USA drubbed Puerto Rico 112-86 in its final stateside exhibition game before heading to Spain for the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
Derrick Rose returned to the lineup after sitting out Wednesday’s win over the Dominican Republic to rest his knees. The former NBA MVP played 13 minutes and scored 6 points for the Red, White, and Blue and dished out 4 assists while playing suffocating defense against the Puerto Rico guards.
After leading by just five points at halftime, Team USA used a strong third quarter to pull away from Puerto Rico.
Team USA saw seven of its own score in double figures. Behind Curry, James Harden and Rudy Gay each put in 13 points, while Klay Thompson and Kenneth Faried added 12 points apiece. Kyrie Irving notched 11 and Anthony Davis chipped in 10 of his own. In all, the Americans shot 53% from the floor and knocked down 12 of 27 three point shots.
NBA player J.J. Barea led Puerto Rico in scoring with 16 points. The PR Nationals shot just 45% against the smothering defense of the American team.
As Team USA prepares to defend its FIBA World Title against the likes of Spain, Argentina, and France, head coach Mike Krzyzewski and USA Basketball Director Jerry Colangelo will make its final cuts on Saturday. DeMar DeRozan, Andre Drummond, Gordon Hayward and Damian Lillard all failed to get floor time on Friday, likely meaning the axe will fall on their World Cup hopes.
The United States team will play one more exhibition contest against Slovenia on Tuesday before opening FIBA World Cup play against Finland on August 30 in Spain.
