On Friday, the United States endured its first true challenge of the Basketball World Cup and remained unbeaten.

Just barely.

Anthony Edwards scored 17 points, Austin Reaves added 12 points, and Jaren Jackson Jr. contributed 11 points as the United States defeated Montenegro 85-73 in their World Cup second-round opener. It placed the United States on the verge of qualifying for the quarterfinals.

Mikal Bridges and Tyrese Haliburton tallied 10 points each for the United States (4-0).

At the interval, Nikola Vucevic had 18 points and 15 rebounds for Montenegro, which led 39-38. Kendrick Perry tallied 14 points for the 2-2 Montenegro.The United States led 61-55 entering the fourth quarter and added a point to make it a seven-point lead, its largest of the game to that point.

Montenegro refused to disappear. With 7:15 remaining, a 3-pointer by Nikola Ivanovic brought the underdogs to within 64-62, and the Americans couldn’t breathe until the final seconds. This was a stark contrast to the first three games of the tournament, in which the U.S. won every game by at least 27 points.It was a bad first half for the U.S. by almost all statistical measures: The Americans shot 35% from the field, were just 1 for 9 from 3-point range, got outrebounded 28-17 and managed only nine points off 12 turnovers by Montenegro.

The United States also missed opportunities. Consider this sequence, which began with 1:10 remaining in the half: Walker Kessler dunked off a pass from Edwards, was fouled, and Montenegro received a technical penalty. However, the United States made only one of three subsequent free throws, and Kessler missed a layup attempt to end the possession.The United States failed to capitalize on a seven-point opportunity and ended up with only three points.

INFLUENCED BY

The United States was a 26.5-point favorite at tipoff… Kessler received earlier-than-usual minutes due in large part to Montenegro’s frontcourt’s effectiveness in the paint. Friday, Cam Johnson was not in the lineup. Paolo Banchero wore a bandage on his right forefinger, which he injured during a pass against Greece.Prior to Friday, Montenegro’s record this summer was 4-4 — 2-1 at the World Cup and 2-3 in exhibitions leading up to the tournament… Perry is a Florida native who averaged 16.2 points per season in four years of collegiate basketball at Youngstown State before spending the last decade in various international leagues.

GAME 1

On Friday, the United States played the national team currently known as Montenegro for the first time at the senior me𝚗’s level. The United States defeated the former Yugoslavia, comprised of Serbia and Montenegro, in the 1996 Olympic gold-medal contest.

SLOW STARTING OFF

Once again, the United States struggled in the opening minutes. The United States fell behind 14-4 to New Zealand and 6-2 to Greece in the first halves of those games, and were quickly down 11-4 by Friday.