Team USA went into their final FIBA Worlds Group B matchup with nothing to play for except a 5-0 record. They clinched Group B the day before with their victory over Iran and the only mysteries left before tipoff was who was going to be their first knockout round opponent, how much playing time the starters would get, and how long would it take Team USA to blow out the Tunisians, who were 0-4 in group play while making their first appearance ever in the FIBA Worlds tournament.
The Tunisians has other ideas. They pushed Team USA in the first half and at one point trailed by only two thanks to Team USA's miserable 1-10 shooting behind the FIBA arc and failure to put together consistent stretches of offense.
Despite the sloppy first half and the determined effort from Tunisia, Team USA led 39-33 at halftime. Team USA opened it up in the third quarter with an 8-2 run kick started by a Kevin Durant three ball. They started lighting it up from FIBA three land after that and tightened up the defensive pressure to hold the Tunisians to 13 points in the quarter to stretch that lead to a 63-46 advantage by the end of the quarter.
Team USA kicked in the afterburners for a 29-11 4th quarter to close out the 92-57 win.
USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski said in the post game news conference: "We thought in our pool every team played hard. Tunisia's play was symbolic of that type of play, as they fought on every possession. An outstanding first half for them. You get 25 offensive rebounds, it means that you never give up on the ball and I admire that. Although we need to work on our stuff a little better, I thought we played hard in the second half. For the third game in this tournament everybody on Team USA scored. High point man was Eric Gordon who finished with 21 points thanks to 4 of 7 three point shooting. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook both chipped in 14 points.
On to three days off, the knockout rounds and a Monday matchup with the 4th place team in Group A, perennial FIBA African Zone champ Angola.
