Team USA Routs the Dominican Republic 106-71 (VIDEO)

USA Basketball had no problems at all taking care of the Dominican Republic in a 35-point beatdown, going 4-0 thus far at the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Kenneth Faried was the leading scorer with 16 points and six rebounds, and DeMarcus Cousins added 13 points, five rebounds and six steals in 12 minutes. Per the USAB’s site:

“I was pleased with our team tonight,” said USA coach Mike Krzyzewski. “I thought part of the start was we missed three layups, five free throws. They were short handed with (Francisco) Garcia not playing and what happens, I think, sometimes you don’t want to pile it on, but you also don’t have the edge you normally have. I thought our guys got that. I thought our bench did a great job. […] “We’re happy that we’re going to finish first in our pool, so we already know that, and hopefully we can come back tomorrow and play really well against Ukraine.”

 

“I believe everybody felt pretty good with how well they played today,” Cousins said. “You could see it on guy’s faces, you could see with the guys on the bench. Everybody was happy for one-another, everyone was cheering for one-another, and that’s what we are going to need to continue on this path.”

 

“Before today, those last two games really got us in mental shape,” said Rudy Gay, who finished with nine points and five assists. “Obviously, you come here and you have USA on your chest, you think things are going to come easy. They tested us. Today we came together and executed and played defense and also played together. Today was a big step for us.”