The path to the Second Round of the FIBA World Cup wasn’t without its challenges for Team USA, though it’d be hard to see that after a 53-point victory over Japan in the final game of Group E play. The United States scored the first 11 points of the game, never looked back, and eventually led by as many as 62 late in the fourth quarter to cruise to victory.
It was a cathartic win of sorts, especially in the way they twice snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Turkey on Tuesday.