Team USA vs. Germany: Anthony Edwards’ 34 points help Americans survive major scare in final World Cup tune-up

Team USA survived a major scare on Sunday in their final tune-up forward of the 2023 FIBA World Cup. After trailing by way of up to 16 in the second one part in their pleasant in opposition to Germany in Abu Dhabi, Team USA closed on a dominant 22-5 run to safe a 99-91 victory and end this warm-up sequence with a super 5-0 document. 

After typically cruising via their first 4 exhibitions, Team USA appeared just a little slow and out of sync early on. The offense, frequently compelled to play in the halfcourt, used to be stagnant, Dennis Schroder used to be doing no matter he sought after and Germany used to be taking pictures the ball neatly from downtown. 

The Germans took regulate overdue in the second one quarter and driven their result in up to 16 overdue in the 3rd after a bucket by way of Johannes Voigtmann. That excessive level used to be short-lived, on the other hand, as Tyrese Haliburton and Austin Reaves led a large American run to chop the deficit all the way down to 4 heading into the fourth. 

Then, it used to be Anthony Edwards time. The emerging famous person for the Minnesota Timberwolves scored 14 of his game-high 34 points in the fourth quarter, matching the Germans’ overall as a workforce by way of himself. His 3-pointer with 5:18 to play tied the sport, and his loose throws and mid-range jumper a couple of mins later necessarily sealed the win. 

Edwards’ sensible efficiency on Sunday additional solidified his standing as Team USA’s absolute best participant. As head trainer Steve Kerr put it right through his post-game press convention, “he’s, unquestionably, the guy.” Edwards led the workforce in scoring in 4 of the 5 friendlies, and averaged 18.8 points. 

Team USA has been drawn into Group C for the World Cup, along side Greece, Jordan and New Zealand, and can start play on Aug. 26 in Manila, Philippines — the web page of all 3 in their workforce degree video games. They will have to end in the highest two in their workforce to advance to the second one spherical of the event. 

As with any major global event, there may be major power at the Americans to win the gold medal, however it’s even larger this summer season on account of their deficient appearing in the ultimate World Cup. Back in 2019 in China, the Americans limped to a seventh-place end, their worst-ever appearing in the development and the primary time with no medal since 2002. Team USA ultimate gained the World Cup in 2014 and is tied with Yugoslavia for probably the most titles all-time with 5.