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Team USA was a 15 1/2-point favorite against
the Lithuanians, who held on to a 54-37 halftime lead to win in
Manila, Philippines.
The Americans outscored Lithuania 28-17 in the third quarter but
couldn't make up the six-point deficit in the fourth.
Anthony Edwards led Team USA (4-1) with 35 points on 14-of-26
shooting in 29 minutes. Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges
contributed 14 points, and Brandon Ingram scored 10.
Vaidas Kariniauskas scored 15 points for Lithuania (5-0), while
Mindaugas Kuzminskas had 14 points and Jonas Valanciunas
contributed 12 points and seven rebounds.
Losses by Brazil, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic mean
the United States and Canada will finish the as the top two
teams from the Americas regions, qualifying them for Paris.
"It doesn't ease the pain of the loss that we had tonight for
us, but for USA Basketball, it's a good thing to not have to go
through any qualifying, anything further, you don't have to
worry about anything else," coach Steve Kerr said of
guaranteeing a spot in Paris, per The Athletic. "But to be
honest, I'm not worried about the Olympics. I'm worried about
this. We want to win the World Cup, and that's our focus."
If the Americans are to win the World Cup, they'll have to beat
their next opponent, Italy (4-1), in the first game of the
knockout round on Tuesday, also in Manila.
--Field Level Media
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