Team USA crushes Jordan to sweep through World Cup group - ESPN

MANILA, Philippines — Team USA's Anthony Edwards and Jordan's Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added some spice to a what otherwise would have been a low-drama game, staging an American playground-style duel that isn't normally seen at the FIBA World Cup.

The two shooting guards went back-and-forth racking up points and giving the crowd at Mall of Asia Arena something to pay attention to besides the score as Team USA won 110-62 on Wednesday to finish pool play 3-0.

The U.S. moves on to the World Cup's second round and will play Montenegro, which went 2-1 to advance out of its group, on Friday.

Edwards delighted in the meeting with Hollis-Jefferson, who was one of his mentors in training camp with the Minnesota Timberwolves his rookie year in 2020. Hollis-Jefferson, a six-year NBA veteran, came in as the event's second-leading scorer and one of the happy stories of the first week.

«We haven't seen each other since then, so it was fun,» Edwards said. «And yeah, we was talking with smack out there for sure.»

Edwards threw in several dunks, three 3-pointers and even a behind-the-back pass. Edwards finished with 22 points in 19 minutes and, illustrating just how much he was into the game, also had eight rebounds and four assists.

Edwards also fouled Hollis-Jefferson twice, which is something the 28-year-old has become an expert at while playing overseas the past two seasons. After drawing 15 fouls in a 39-point showing against New Zealand on Monday, Hollis-Jefferson drove, twisted and baited the U.S. into fouling him eight times.

Hollis-Jefferson finished with 20 points and 7 rebounds, though he was slowed after spraining his left ankle on a drive to the basket in the first half.

In a moment that sort of summed up the show, Edwards