Myles Turner (2nd L) of the United States goes up for a basket during the group K match between the United States and Brazil at the FIBA World Cup 2019 in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong province, Sept. 9, 2019. (Xinhua/Xu Chang)
SHENZHEN, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The USA team enjoyed a comfortable win over Brazil on 89-73 in the second round to book a final eight berth at FIBA World Cup here on Monday.
The victory means the United States reached the quarter-finals as Group K winners and will face France.
"We played a very good second half. The first half I thought that Brazil were outstanding in their execution, their passion. They played very well. I think we picked it up defensively in the second half. We felt good about the win and look forward to moving on." USA head coach Gregg Popovich said.
Myles Turner and Kemba Walker contributed 10 points each as the USA took a 4-point lead on 43-39 after Victor Benite scored 15 points to help Brazil keep up the pace at the break.
The USA expanded the lead to double-digits to enter the last period with a lead of 11 points. The USA continued to control the game's rhythm under the lead of Walker and Myles to put the tie beyond the reach of the South Americans.
"I think we had a pretty good tournament. We had a terrible game against the Czech Republic that cost us the tournament. Now we are going home because we didn't play well." Brazil center Anderson Varejao said.
Walker and Turner pocketed 16 points apiece for the USA, followed by 11 from Jaylen Brown. Victor Benite scored a team-high 21 points. Anderson Varejao and Leandrinho Barbosa added 14 points respectively.
