TEAM USA’s small ball still dwarfed New Zealand’s Tall Blacks.
The Americans shrugged off a shaky start then pulled away behind a squad that had natural forward Paolo Banchero manning the middle, pressing their title credentials in the 2023 Fiba World Cup with a 99-72 victory on Saturday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.
USA vs New Zealand recap Fiba Basketball World Cup 2023
The Americans fell behind by 10 points, but quickly flipped the switch behind Anthony Edwards and Austin Reaves to erase the deficit at the end of the first quarter.
Then it was a squad with Banchero that sparked the breakaway in the second half.
The statement result enabled the Americans to take a piece of the Group C lead with Greece, which opened its campaign with a 92-71 win over Jordan in the day’s first game at the Pasay venue.
“New Zealand was great. They came out physical right away and took it to us. And we need to feel that, because that’s what these games are going to be like,” Team USA coach Steve Kerr said.
“But I love the way we responded. We feel like over forty minutes that we can wear teams down,” he added.
Banchero came off the bench and still paced the Americans’ scoring with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting, on top of four rebounds, four blocks, and one assist in 19 efficient minutes.
Edwards added 14 markers, seven boards, three assists, and one steal, while Reaves chipped in 12 points, six assists, three steals, and two boards.
Jaren Jackson Jr., Jalen Brunson, and Tyrese Haliburton were the other Americans who scored in double digits.
Reuben Te Rangi led four Kiwis who scored in twin digits with 15 points, but failed to sustain their solid start that saw them erect a 14-4 lead with four minutes gone by in the first quarter.
“I think the opening handshake was good, strong, and forceful. Just being able to maintain that for a full game is always the question. But I’m proud of my guys,” New Zealand coach Pero Cameron said.
The scores:
USA 99 – Banchero 21, Edwards 14, Reaves 12, Jackson 12, Brunson 10, Haliburton 10, Bridges 7, Hart 5, Portis 4, Ingram 2, Johnson 2, Kessler 0
NZ 72 – Te Rangi 15, Delany 12, Ili 12, Wetzell 10, Le’Afa 9, Cameron 5, Fotu 4, Smith-Milner 3, Britt 2, Brown 0, Harris 0, Ngatai 0
Quarterscores: 19-18, 45-36, 76-58, 99-72
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