U.S team cruises past Great Britain in the Manchester exhibition game – NBA News
Deron Williams started and Carmelo Anthony came off the bench as the U.S team faced Great Britain in an exhibition game on Thursday in Manchester. And both players seemed to be fine with the change, scoring 19 points each on the
night as the U.S team cruised past the British team 118-78.
Chicago Bulls star Luol Deng played for the British team, and competed against his former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. He had 25 points for the night but admitted that the athleticism of the US team was too much for his team.
"He said they just had never faced that speed and quickness, so you can't practice that. You can't simulate that, so I thought it was a great experience for them. And us,” said Krzyzewski referring to his after game discussion
with Deng.
Williams went 5 of 6 from the distance and added 5 assists to his 19 points. He was unable to scrimmage with the team during training camp as he hadn’t signed his five year $98 million deal with the Brooklyn Nets. However, once
he got on the floor, he was at his usual best. Anthony was replaced with Kevin Durant in the starting line-up, but played exceptionally coming off the bench to score 19 points. LeBron James added 16 points and Russell Westbrook had 15 for the Americans.
"It was fine with me, definitely fine with me. (Krzyzewski) came to us this morning, me and Chris, asked if we were OK with it. I'm like, why wouldn't we be? It is what it is,” said Anthony of the change in line-up.
The U.S team was coming off a tough 80-69 victory in an exhibition game against Brazil in Washington D.C. However, they felt no discomfort defeating the Britons. After leading by 3 points with 1 and a half minute remaining in the
first period, the U.S team closed with 10 straight points to stretch the lead to 13. The second period was even less contested with the American extending their lead to 18. And they never looked back after that, leading by 40 points at one stage in the final
period.
The game turned into a slam dunk contest in the closing minutes; with the U.S team putting on display their talent, athleticism and skills to the British crowd, who watched in amazement.
Pops Mensah-Bonsu added 12 points and Andrew Sullivan finished with 11 for team Britain. The U.S team will now travel to Barcelona where they will first play Argentina in an exhibition game, followed by a game against Spain. Argentina
were the bronze medal winners in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Spain are the team the U.S team defeated in the 2008 Olympic Finals to claim the gold.
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