[ad_1]
USA men’s basketball team Saddened by Nigeria in its first exhibition match ahead of the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday evening, it’s a stunning result, even if its effects are more symbolic than likely to affect US eventual gold medal hopes.
Nigeria defeated a Team USA roster of All-NBA players 90-87 at the Mandalay Bay Arena in Las Vegas. This was the first win for an African team over the USA men’s national team.
The loss cut Team USA’s record in exhibition games since 1992, when NBA players were first allowed to play in the United States, to 54-3. Olympics. The team had not lost an exhibition match since 2019, losing 98-94 to Australia ahead of the FIBA World Cup.
Just nine years ago, the United States beat Nigeria 156-73 at the 2012 Olympics in London.
In Saturday’s stunner, Kevin Durant set a team-high 17 points for Team USA, with Jayson Tatum adding 15 points and Damian Lillard adding 14 points.
The trio was held off the field in 9 of 30 shots, and their teammates looked mismatched after the final end of the NBA season and a brief comeback from the previous season. Players like LeBron James and Stephen Curry were out of consideration for the Olympics, but the roster is still full of players expected to win gold in Tokyo.
Nigeria’s roster includes a handful of NBA players, including Sacramento Kings’ Chimezie Metu, Minnesota Timberwolves’ Josh Okogie and Utah Jazz’s Miye Oni. The team is coached by Golden State Warriors assistant Mike Brown.
Nigeria turned down almost half of their 40 3-pointers against Team USA
Playing for Washington State, Ike Iroegbu took Nigeria 88-80 with a 3-pointer with one minute left. Durant countered with seven points. With a game-record 21 points, Miami Heat’s Gabe Vincent fired two free throws with 13.2 seconds remaining, adding to the upset as Team USA couldn’t make a game out of the time-out in the final seconds of the game.
“This defeat means nothing if we don’t learn from him, but learning from it may be the most important thing in this tournament,” US coach Gregg Popovich later told reporters.
Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton of Milwaukee and Devin Booker of Phoenix are set to join the roster of Team USA, which won three-time defensive gold medals at the end of the NBA finals.
[ad_2]
Source link