USA! USA! USA!
In a result that surprised nobody, Team USA went on to win the Gold medal at the 2014 FIBA World Cup thanks to a dominant 37 point win over Serbia. The United States hit 15 of 30 three pointers in the victory and were led in scoring by Tournament MVP Kyrie Irving's 26 points.
Serbia came out strong, getting an early 8 point lead and even getting USA star Anthony Davis into early foul trouble. That left it up to Sacramento Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins to come in and anchor the defense, a job in which he filled admirably. Cousins was a force on both ends, and he finished with 11 points, a game-high 9 rebounds, an assist, a steal and 2 blocks in 17 minutes. Cousins was also a +31 in his time on the court.
Cousins was garnering praise all over social media for the way he stepped up, including from David Thorpe:
If this DeMarcus Cousins is the guy who plays for the Kings, the West will have a new "best center" in the conference. MVP of the finals
— david b. thorpe (@coachthorpe) September 14, 2014Rudy Gay played despite the jaw injury he sustained against Lithuania, and he scored 11 points himself on 5 of 9 shooting to go with 3 rebounds in 15 and a half minutes.
Thus finishes a dominant FIBA World Cup for the United States. Cousins and Gay have a couple weeks off before training camp begins, and hopefully they can bring their winning ways back to Sacramento.