LeBron's heroics prevent U.S team from an embarrassing loss to Brazil – NBA Update
The US National Team played against Brazil in an exhibition game here in Washington D.C, and came out with an 80-69 victory.
LeBron James scored 30 points in the game as he helped the team cruise past the Brazilians in the final period, after leading by only 7 points with four and a half minutes to play. U.S President Barrack Obama and Vice President
Joe Biden were present for the game, along with their families, and sat courtside as they watched their team compete.
James scored 14 points in the final period alone, reminding fans why he was the most valuable player in the 2011-2012 NBA regular season. He said that it was “humbling” and “overwhelming” to play in front of the President.
"You have dreams about being in the NBA. You have dreams about making the game-winning shot at the buzzer. You never have dreams about having the president actually watching you play, because you don't think it's possible,” said
James after the game.
The Americans struggled to open the game, and scored their first field goal of the game two and a half minutes into the first period as Brazil took a 7-2 lead. The Brazilians then scored the final four points of the period to take
a commanding 27-17 lead going into the 2nd period, with the U.S team left scratching their heads.
They came out in the second period with a better game plan, and stepped up their defence to create transition opportunities. A series of steals and fast breaks helped them go on a 12-0 run and grab a 33-29 lead. USA ended the first
half leading by 37-32.
The U.S team found its rhythm by the time the 2nd half started, and played well to eventually win 80-69. However, it was a much tougher game than the exhibition game they played against the Dominican Republic on 12th
July in Las Vegas, where they had routed the visiting team 113-59.
Brazil is one of the better teams in World Basketball, and boast a strong front court presence that includes Nene of the Washington Wizards and Tiago Splitter of the San Antonio Spurs.
Alex Garcia scored 14 points for Brazil while Marcelo Huertas had 11 points and 13 assists. Washington native Kevin Durant finished with 11 points for the U.S team and Chris Paul had 10 for the night.
"It felt good, though, to compete and stuff like that. Like we said, our defense is what's going to win games for us and obviously we imposed that after the first quarter,’ said Paul after the game.
Brazil always seem to bring out their best against USA. They had given U.S team the toughest time at the 2010 FIBA World Basketball Championship, where they lost 70-68 in a close game. The South Americans will look at this game
as a confidence builder, while mistakes highlighted during the game will also help them improve before the Olympics kick off.
The U.S team will leave for Manchester on Tuesday, where they will play an exhibition game with Great Britain. They will then travel to Barcelona to play exhibition games against Argentina and Spain.
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