U.S. survives Montenegro scare in toughest tourney test yet

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Everything had looked so easy for the U.S. at the Basketball World Cup. Points were coming in bunches, final scores were blowouts and stress wasn’t a problem.

Until Friday.

If the Americans were waiting a serious test at the World Cup, they can wait no more. Facing a 26.5-point underdog in Montenegro in a second-round opener for both teams, they trailed by a point at the half, didn’t take the lead for good until midway through the third quarter and still had a contest on their hands until the final minutes.

They found a way in the end, winning 85-73 to remain unbeaten and move to the brink of the quarterfinals.

“Great game for us ... These games are going to happen,” said U.S. coach Steve Kerr.

Anthony Edwards scored all of his team-high 17 points in the second half for the Americans (4-0), who got 12 from Austin Reaves and 11 from Jaren Jackson Jr. Mikal Bridges and Tyrese Haliburton each added 10 for the U.S., which didn’t pull away until late in the fourth.

“It wasn’t the prettiest game,” Haliburton said. “But what FIBA games really are?”

Nikola Vucevic had 18 points and 15 rebounds for Montenegro, which led 39-38 at the half. Kendrick Perry scored 14 for Montenegro (2-2).

It was essentially a must-win for Montenegro, and it darn near pulled off a stunner.

“We played well and we made it as tough for them as we could,” said Vucevic, who plays for the Chicago Bulls. “But in the end, quality prevailed.”

The U.S. led 61-55 going into the fourth and tacked a point on to make it a seven-point edge — its biggest of the game to that point — early in the final quarter.

Montenegro just wouldn’t go away. A 3-pointer by Nikola Ivanovic got the underdogs within 64-62 with 7:15 remaining, and the Americans couldn’t exhale until the final seconds — a far cry from the way the first three games of the tournament went, with points coming in bunches and the U.S. winning every game by at least 27 points.

It was a bad first half for the U.S. by almost all statistical measures: The Americans shot 35% from the field, were just 1 for 9 from 3-point range, got outrebounded 28-17 and managed only nine points off 12 turnovers by Montenegro.

And the U.S. misfired on opportunities as well. Consider this sequence that started with 1:10 left in the half: Walker Kessler got a dunk off a pass from Edwards, got fouled, Montenegro was whistled for a technical as well. But the U.S. went just 1 for 3 on the ensuing free throws, and Kessler missed from layup range to end the possession.

It was a chance for a seven-point possession and the U.S. came away with only three.

TIP-INS

USA: Kessler got earlier-than-usual minutes, in large part because of the success Montenegro’s big front line in the paint. Cam Johnson was not in Friday’s rotation. … Paolo Banchero played with a wrap on his right thumb, which he hurt on a pass in the Greece game.

Montenegro: Before Friday, Montenegro had only a 4-4 record this summer — 2-1 at the World Cup, 2-3 in exhibitions leading up to the tournament. … Perry is a Florida native, someone who played four years of college basketball at Youngstown State (averaging 16.2 points) and briefly had time in the G League before spending the last decade or so in various international leagues.

GAME 1

Friday marked the first time the U.S. played the national team currently known as Montenegro at the senior men’s level. The U.S. beat the former Yugoslavia — made up of Serbia and Montenegro — in the gold-medal game at the 1996 Olympics.

SLOW START

Once again, the U.S. didn’t come out flying in the opening minutes. The Americans got down 14-4 to New Zealand and 6-2 to Greece to open those games, and they were in a quick 11-4 hole on Friday.

USA: Play Lithuania on Sunday.

Montenegro: Play Greece on Sunday.

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