The United States handled Canada in the final exhibition tune-up game ahead of the FIBA World Cup in China.
Just days after dropping their first International contest in 13 years, Team USA played physical and tough-minded basketball to come to an 84-68 victory over Canada.
Jaylen Brown led the United States with 19 points on efficient 72% shooting from the field while Myles Turner's presence was felt in the paint, notching a double-double of 10 points and 15 rebounds.
For Canada, Kyle Witljer showcased his ability to fill it up with a game-high 21 points and Khem Birch had a solid outing of 13 points and six rebounds.
For more on the contest, we have you covered with takeaways below.
Canada's defence
The United States scored 84 points – their lowest scoring total of their exhibition schedule – and yet, it felt like they were scoring at will.
Part of the reason Team USA's scoring total was so low was because they shot horrifically from the perimeter. They were 2-for-14 (14.3%) from beyond the arc with only Donovan Mitchell (1-5 3PT) and Jaylen Brown (1-2 3PT) knocking down long range jumpers.
Unfortunately for Canada, this wasn't due to any type of defensive presence, as the United States got whatever shots they wanted in this contest.
Team USA shot a blistering 51.2% (20-for-39) from the field with the majority of those looks coming right at the rim for easy dunks or layups. Canada was only able to come up with two blocked shots for the contest and struggled to defend without fouling. Reserve centre Owen Klassen only needed six minutes of playing time to foul out of the contest.
If Canada is going to pursue a medal at the World Cup, they're going to have to up the ante on the defensive end and play much more physically without fouling. Their interior presence was lacking and against the United States' thin front court – aside from Myles Turner who had a fantastic game – this wasn't a great showing from Canada's bigs.
A positive note, though: Canada closed out the contest on a 7-0 run thanks to an impressive looking full court press that forced a handful of USA turnovers down the stretch of the game. This gives head coach Nick Nurse an ace up his sleeve that he'll likely go to whenever the team needs a spark of energy or a run.
Wiltjer's emergence
Though he came off the bench, Kyle Wiltjer made it well-known that he'll likely be Canada's leading scorer once the World Cup gets started up this weekend.
In a game where Canada struggled to get any sort of offence going – shooting 32.8% from the field and 26.1% from beyond the arc – Wiltjer still found a way to get buckets.
Players not named Kyle Wiltjer on Canada shot 27% from the field and 22% from the perimeter. Wiltjer himself was an impressive 8-for-13 (61.5%) from the field and 2-for-5 (40%) from deep.
The Gonzaga product led all scorers with a game-high 21 points and also finished a team-best plus-eight plus/minus – an impressive feat in a contest where his team was trailing the entire game.
11 of Wiltjer's 21 points came in the final frame but the forward got hot fast with a couple of hard drives to the basket for a pair tough and-1 finishes – something out of the ordinary for the traditional spot-up shooter.
This was a good sign for Canada to see someone take the lead as a premier scorer in a contest where they couldn't buy a bucket.
USA's turnovers
To be clear, this was a very well played contest for Team USA for the full 40 minutes.
Their offence was clicking and they appeared to finally find a few different lineups that meshed well. They were moving the ball well and passing up good looks for great looks, while also asserting themselves to the rim for 60 points in the paint – a major improvement over their loss to Australia.
They were playing physical defence and rebounded the ball the best we've in this exhibition schedule.
But to point out their one flaw from the contest – a continued flaw that we've seen so far – they need to take care of the ball.
The United States finished the game with a nauseating 19 turnovers. They had 10 turnovers by halftime and didn't do much to remedy the situation in the second half. A number of the turnovers are careless, which should sharpen up once they're competing in games that matter, but it's still not a habit you want to get into.
Over their four exhibition games, they averaged 14.8 turnovers per game. The most generous of those games being their loss to Australia where they had seven turnovers at the half but cleaned things up in the second half to only finish with 10 total.
If Team USA wants to retain the Gold medal in China, they'll have to limit their turnovers and learn to cherish every possession.
