Mikal Bridges' Dominance in Team USA's Blowout of Italy at FIBA World Cup Wows Fans

Two days after being upset by Lithuania, Team USA had an impressive bounce-back performance with a 100-63 victory over Italy in the 2023 FIBA World Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Given the stakes of this game, it was the best performance by the Americans in the tournament. They were forceful on the glass with a 50-34 rebound advantage and displayed lights-out shooting with a 54.5 percent field-goal percentage, including a 17-of-36 mark from behind the arc.

It was a rare off night for Anthony Edwards, who finished with three points and made just one of his six field-goal attempts. He scored at least 14 points in each of the first five games of the tournament.

Fortunately, the U.S. got a stellar performance from Mikal Bridges to up the slack. The Brooklyn Nets wing dropped 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting in just 18 minutes. He also grabbed six rebounds and had two steals.

Bridges was the only starter for the U.S. to reach double digits in scoring. Edwards, Jalen Brunson, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Josh Hart combined for 19 points.

This was as dominant as Bridges has been in a game all tournament. Fans sounded off on his dazzling game to help Team USA advance to the next round.

The other standout performer in the win was Tyrese Haliburton. He scored 18 points on six made threes with a game-high five assists. The 23-year-old is quietly having a terrific World Cup with 9.3 points on 62.5 percent shooting and 5.0 assists per game in six appearances.

Things got so comfortable for the United States that head coach Steve Kerr was able to rest most of his starting five for the entire fourth quarter. Hart, who has started the past four games, got some run late to give Haliburton a break.

The 37-point margin of victory was the second-largest for the U.S. in the tournament after its 110-62 win over Jordan on Aug. 30.

Team USA won't have to worry about Lithuania again in the tournament. The Lithuanians will play in the classification round to determine the teams that finish fifth through eighth after they lost 87-68 to Serbia on Tuesday.

Next up for the United States will be the winner of Wednesday's showdown between Germany and Latvia. The semifinal will take place on Thursday at Mall of Asia Arena.