Anthony Edwards, Austin Reaves Praised for Leading USA to Comeback Win vs. Montenegro

The United States shook off a slow start to beat Montenegro 85-73 and maintain its perfect record in the 2023 FIBA World Cup on Friday.

Montenegro closed the first half on a 12-6 run to take a one-point lead into the intermission.

Head coach Boško Radović saw his team use its size advantage to build a plus-11 rebounding edge after the first quarter. Montenegro had as many offensive rebounds as the U.S. did defensive rebounds in the game (23).

It didn't help that Anthony Edwards, who has been America's best player in the tournament, was held scoreless in the first half on five field-goal attempts. But the Minnesota Timberwolves star led the second-half charge with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting.

Fans were happy to shower Edwards with praise for lifting the United States to victory in a close-fought game.

Austin Reaves made a critical three-pointer late in the fourth quarter that extended Team USA's lead to 75-68. He finished the game with 12 points on just two field-goal attempts because he went 9-of-11 from the free-throw line.

The hype for Reaves following another strong FIBA World Cup game continues to grow.

Tyrese Haliburton and Paolo Banchero did their part to help off the bench. Haliburton scored 10 points and dished out a game-high six assists in 24 minutes. Banchero chipped in with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting.

Nikola Vučević gave the U.S. a lot of problems with 18 points and 16 rebounds (seven offensive). Dino Radončić had 10 rebounds in 26 minutes.

While the vibes are good because Team USA was able to get the win, this was the toughest test it has faced in the tournament, and it was a struggle. The Americans went 1-of-9 from three-point range in the first half, made 26.3 percent of their attempts behind the arc for the game and committed 12 turnovers.

One encouraging sign is the United States was able to overcome its sloppy play by locking down on defense. It got 14 steals and forced Montenegro into 22 turnovers overall.

On a night when the offense wasn't clicking, head coach Steve Kerr was able to get a good game from his defense.

Team USA will wrap up second-round play against Lithuania on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. ET. Montenegro (2-2) will play Greece at 4:25 a.m. ET on Sunday.