Mitchell Bounces Back From Poor Performance, Puts Team USA In Second Round Of World Cup
Sep 5, 2019, 1:01 PM
Joe Harris of USA celebrate with Donovan Mitchell during the 1st round Group E match between USA and Japan of 2019 FIBA World Cup at the Oriental Sports Center on September 5, 2019 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
(Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
SHANGHAI, China – Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell bounced back from a poor performance against Turkey to lead Team USA to the second round of the FIBA World Cup with a 98-45 win over Japan on Thursday morning.
Mitchell recovered nicely following a rough outing against the Turkish national team on Tuesday morning when he scored 9 points on 25% shooting. He was a -8 +/- rating while on the court. Team USA escaped with a 93-92 win.
On Thursday, Mitchell’s shooting improved to 50%. He scored 10 points in just under 23 minutes of play. He led the United States with a +51 +/- rating.
All love for @spidadmitchell @KembaWalker @FCHWPO & @hbarnes!
🇺🇸 #USAGotGame pic.twitter.com/uhSNrJ4aUa
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) September 5, 2019
Team USA finished the opening round with a 3-0 record in Group E.
“Hey, we did our thing. Ya know, we bounced back. A great win, all-around win by everybody. But we’ve got to get ready for round two. Let’s get it.” said Mitchell.
On to round 2 of the @FIBAWC for @usabasketball! #USAGotGame pic.twitter.com/cwEFlj18eg
— NBA (@NBA) September 5, 2019
Round 2 Preview
By advancing to the second round of the tournament they were placed in a new group and are now a member of Group K.
Group K consists of the Czech Republic, Brazil, and Greece.
The Czech Republic was a member of Group E along with the United States. They moved onto the second round with a 2-1 record. They lost to the United States 88-67 on Sunday, September 1.
Brazil like Team USA went 3-0 in the first round of the tournament.
Greece advanced with a 2-1 record and will now face the United States on Saturday in the first game of the second round.
The game will take place at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center in Shenzhen, China at 6:30 a.m. (MDT). The game will be available on ESPN+.
