USA vs. Great Britain: Olympic Exhibition Highlights, Twitter Reaction and More

The U.S. men’s basketball national team may not be firing on all cylinders quite yet, but you couldn’t tell in their 118-78 thrashing of Great Britain in Manchester on Thursday.

In their third exhibition before the Olympics, the U.S. lacked aggression at times, which kept the game close until the end of the second quarter, when a 12-4 run gave the Americans a comfortable 55-37 lead at the break.

It was a game where you couldn’t learn much about the team because of the seismic gap in talent. Aside from Luol Deng (25 points, four rebounds), this was a very weak Great Britain team.

Carmelo Anthony scored 19 on an extremely efficient 8-of-10 from the field. Deron Williams added 19 as well, with 14 of them coming in the blowout third quarter that saw the U.S. outscore Great Britain, 34-18.

‘Melo came off the bench for the first time in the exhibition season, and clearly thrived in his role.

The Americans outscored Great Britain, 64-18, in the paint.

Must-See Highlights

Rarely do you see Kevin Durant on SportsCenter’s “Not Top 10,” but he might have to be after this hilarious sequence where he misses an easy dunk and a layup in the span of 10 seconds.

Good thing it was an exhibition. 

Twitter Reaction

The crowd was energized at the beginning of the contest, but they weren’t exactly fired up for the home team, reports ESPN’s Marc Stein:

"

Good energy here already in Manchester, home of football, where the locals went nuts for every Team USAer coming out to get pregame shots up

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 19, 2012"

Do you think this angered the players of Great Britain?

The Americans still don’t have many set plays on offense and seem to be taking a page from the Miami Heat for their plan of attack, notes CBSSports.com blogger Matt Moore:

"

I find it funny that Team USA's concept is pretty similar to the Heat's. Pressure. Turnovers. Transition. Dunks.

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) July 19, 2012"

The hairline of LeBron has been a major subject of discussion over the last year. James has used an enormous headband to mask the lack of hair, but he was without it today. Bleacher Report’s own Tom Kinslow wonders why:

"

I wonder if FIBA outlawed LeBron's super headband. Not a good look for the champ.

— Tom Kinslow (@TomKinslow) July 19, 2012"

Not Bill Walton compares the thrashing the Americans gave Britain to another one handed out juuuust a few years ago:

"

Team USA is trouncing Great Britain! We haven't beaten the British this badly since snatching our Independence from them in 1776!

— Not Bill Walton (@NotBillWalton) July 19, 2012"

The fourth quarter turned into a dunk-fest for the Americans, led by rookie Anthony Davis. Daye Kaba of 2daySports.com wondered how far away he could slam one down on the Brits:

"

Anthony Davis will try to dunk the ball from the 3-point line next play

— Daye Kaba (@2DaySports) July 19, 2012"

Deciding Factor: Turnovers

The constant pressure by Williams, Chris Paul and the rest of the guards really wore down Great Britain, and it led to dunk after dunk on the other end of the floor.

Great Britain registered 26 turnovers, while the Americans only committed nine. Ball pressure is going to be one of the key ingredients for the U.S. in the Olympics, and it was a good sign to see such a dominating performance.

Game MVP: Deron Williams

‘Melo could have easily won the honor as well, but I’ll give Williams the nod because of his five assists and 14-point third quarter that essentially pulled the plug on any hope of a comeback for Great Britain.

What’s Next

The exhibition tour continues on Sunday when the U.S. squad travels to Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona to face Argentina.

Their first Olympic game against France will be a week from Sunday’s affair, as the Olympics rapidly approach. 

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