USA rolls past Jordan 110-62 in final group stage game in FIBA World Cup

Another game, another blowout for the U.S. at the Basketball World Cup. And now the competition figures to get considerably tougher.

Anthony Edwards scored 22 points and the Americans completed an easy march through the group stage Wednesday, beating Jordan 110-62 to improve to 3-0 and finish atop Group C. Second-round play for the U.S. starts Friday against Montenegro.

“Staying aggressive, staying confident, it’s just something that I do,” Edwards said. “It paid off today.”

Bobby Portis scored 13 for the U.S., which led by 19 after one quarter and 62-33 at the half. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 12 and Jalen Brunson added 10.

“It’s always fun when everybody gets to play and contribute,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr said.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson — the only player with any NBA experience on Jordan’s roster — led his team with 20 points and seven rebounds. Jordan finished group play 0-3 and will play in the classification round for non-second-round teams starting Thursday.

The U.S. improved to 8-0 overall this summer, counting five exhibitions played on the way to Manila. The Americans are one of three teams that won all three group-stage games by at least 20 points — joining Group H winner Canada and Group D winner Lithuania, which will face the U.S. in the second-round finale on Sunday.

This one was the easiest of the three for the U.S., which beat New Zealand by 27 in its opener and Greece by 28 on Monday.

“We tried to slow them down as much as possible,” Jordan coach Wesam Al-Sous said. “We failed. They scored 110 points.”

Hollis-Jefferson has tried to fashion his game — not to mention his current haircut, it seems, since there is a striking similarity — after Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, even wearing No. 24 on his jersey for Jordan this summer.

If this was his audition to get back to the NBA, after not playing in the league since June 2021, it wasn’t bad. He had 66 points in Jordan’s first two games at the World Cup, then shot 6-for-16 on Wednesday — while again getting the occasional “Kobe! Kobe!” chants from some in the crowd in Manila.

Hollis-Jefferson spent a short stint with Edwards and Minnesota before the start of the 2020-21 season. Hollis-Jefferson never played a real game with the Timberwolves, but Edwards remembers their time together.

“He was kind of like my vet when I was a rookie,” Edwards said. “We haven’t seen each other since then, so it was fun to catch up.”

For the first time this summer, the U.S. had a different starting five. Brandon Ingram was out and Josh Hart was in, joining Brunson, Edwards, Jackson Jr. and Mikal Bridges — who celebrated his 27th birthday.

All 12 U.S. players had scored by the end of the third quarter. The Americans also got everybody into the scoring column in Monday’s win over Greece.

The USA will face Montenegro in a second-round game Friday in Manila. Jordan will face Egypt in a classification game Thursday in Manila.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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