Steve Kerr laid down the marker for his United States team ahead of their final group game at the Paris Olympics.
Team USA won their first two Group C encounters, overcoming Serbia and South Sudan.
They face already-eliminated Puerto Rico on Saturday, and though they are assured of progression to the last eight, there is still plenty on the line for the USA.
Kerr's team must win by more than four points to be sure of clinching the top seed for the knockout stage, which would mean they would be drawn against the lowest-ranked team in the quarter-finals.
"We want the No. 1 seed," Kerr said.
"It gives you the best matchup in the quarter-finals. So if we drop down to two or three – which I think is unlikely, but we've got to take care of our business – we possibly have a much tougher opponent."
Points differential is the primary tie-breaker to settle the seeds in the knockout stage. Canada and Germany both stayed perfect through their group campaigns, with the latter occupying the top seed as it stands with a differential of +43.
"The point differential is a big thing, and so even the first two games we were focusing on not taking our foot off like you do in the NBA sometimes," guard Derrick White added.
"So it's a little different than what we're used to, but that's all part of the tournament."
While Jrue Holiday nurses an injury, Anthony Davis is expected to feature for Team USA, while Kevin Durant is embracing his role as a super-sub.
"It's basketball," said veteran Durant.
"It really doesn't matter who starts. It's about really who finished the game, who put their impact on the game while they're in the game.
"So I just try to do my best to impact it any way I can."
Should the USA claim the top seed, they could go up against Giannis Antetokounmpo's Greece, who beat Australia to finish ahead of Spain in Group C.
Greece have to wait on the result of Serbia v South Sudan in order to see if they will qualify.
NBA: Bucks overcome Ball's 50 points in win over Hornets
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32 points and 11 rebounds and the resurgent Milwaukee Bucks overcame LeMelo Ball’s career-high 50 points in a 125-119 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.
Milwaukee opened the fourth quarter with a 14-5 spurt for a 110-90 lead, but the Hornets got it to 121-119 on Brandon Miller’s 3-pointer with 15 seconds left.
Taurean Prince answered with a pair of free throws for the Bucks to make it a two-possession game, and Charlotte missed a pair of 3-pointers on the ensuing possession. Antetokounmpo hit two free throws with 4.5 seconds left to make it 125-119.
Ball hit 17 of 38 shots, including 6 of 17 from beyond the arc, and 10 of 13 free throws to surpass his previous personal best of 38 points, done twice.
Brandon Miller added 32 points for the Hornets, who have lost five of seven.
Milwaukee, which completed a 4-0 homestand, has won six of its last seven. The only loss in that span was a 115-114 loss to the Hornets on Nov. 16 following a controversial foul call.
Charlotte’s Grant Williams went to the locker room late in the fourth quarter with an apparent leg injury and did not return.
Milwaukee hit four consecutive 3s for a 12-3 run and a 96-83 lead late in the third quarter.
Nuggets use dominant 2nd half to rout Lakers
Nikola Jokic scored 34 points and Michael Porter Jr. added 24 as the Denver Nuggets used a strong second half to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102.
Russell Westbrook had 14 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds for Denver against his former team.
Austin Reaves scored 19 points and LeBron James added 18 for the Lakers, who lost consecutive home games after starting the season 7-0 at home. Rui Hachimura, back in the starting lineup after he missed the previous five games with a left ankle sprain, scored 10 points in 22 minutes.
It was the teams' first meeting since the Nuggets beat the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs earlier this year. Denver also swept them in the Western Conference final the previous year.
Denver trailed by six points at halftime but outscored Los Angeles 37-15 in the third quarter and 70-39 for the second half while dominating inside and outside.
Westbrook had a putback dunk at the end of the third quarter to put the finishing touches on an authoritative quarter and extend the lead to 94-77. Westbrook then twirled his arms around emphatically in celebration as he ran back down the floor.
Magic down Pistons to continue surge
Franz Wagner continued his hot stretch with 30 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and the Orlando Magic defeated the Detroit Pistons 111-100 for their eighth win in nine games.
Wagner, who has scored 30 or more points in five of his last seven games, sat out the fourth quarter while the Magic’s bench stretched Orlando's lead to 22 with 7:19 remaining.
He has averaged 27.7 points in the 11 games since the Magic lost star Paolo Banchero to a torn oblique.
Mo Wagner had 18 points and seven rebounds off the Orlando bench, and Jonathan Isaac added five points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.
Jaden Ivey led the Pistons with 19 points and seven rebounds. Malik Beasley, starting in place of the injured Cade Cunningham, added 18 points.
Orlando remained unbeaten at home (8-0) despite playing without Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr. and losing Jalen Suggs to a sore left hamstring in the first half.
After Beasley’s 3-pointer pulled the Pistons even at 56 at the outset of the second half, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope answered with a 3 and the Magic went off on a 20-9 run that included nine straight Magic points from Franz Wagner.
Boyz striker Antonio recounts passport mishap after missing decisive Nations League quarterfinal clash
Jamaican striker Michail Antonio recently opened up about a bizarre and frustrating series of events that caused him to miss the Reggae Boyz's crucial Concacaf Nations League second-leg clash against the United States.
Speaking candidly on a podcast, Antonio detailed how losing his British passport set off an unexpected chain reaction that kept him grounded in Ghana and ultimately sidelined him from the decisive game.
The England-born player, who switched allegiance to Jamaica in 2021, explained that the trouble started when he misplaced his British passport just before traveling. Despite the setback, the West Ham striker decided to proceed with his plans, using his Jamaican passport to travel to Ghana to visit his academy, Samba Stars.
“I lost my passport before I left, but I thought, 'I'm English, so it's not gonna be a problem getting back into the UK,'" Antonio said on the Rest is Football podcast.
Antonio shows off his Jamaican passport during the podcast.
Confident that his Jamaican passport would suffice, Antonio spent three days in Ghana conducting media work and meeting players at his academy.
However, the real challenge came when the 34-year-old attempted to fly back to England, as immigration officials at the airport in Ghana dropped a bombshell—he required a visa to re-enter England using his Jamaican passport.
“I get to the airport, and they're like, ‘Where’s your visa?’” Antonio shared.
“I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’ They said, ‘You need a visa to get back to the UK.’ I was like, ‘No, I don’t. I’m English. I’ve been living in the UK my whole life,’” he added.
What Antonio hadn’t realized was that using his Jamaican passport—a foreign document in this case—meant he was subject to the same entry requirements as any other Jamaican citizen, including a visa to enter the United Kingdom.
His disbelief quickly turned into frustration as Antonio realized he wouldn’t be allowed to board his flight back to England. Instead, he was forced to remain in Ghana for an additional three days while he arranged for an emergency British passport.
“I’ve never needed a visa in my life, but because I was using my Jamaican passport for the first time to get back to England, I needed one,” he stated with a broad smile.
That delay threw Antonio’s travel plans into disarray. While he eventually returned to England, he missed the opportunity to secure a visa to fly to the United States for Jamaica’s Nations League second leg in St Louis, Missouri.
Antonio’s absence proved costly for the Reggae Boyz, who suffered a 4-2 loss to their rivals at Energizer Park, sealing a 5-2 aggregate defeat in the two-legged tie.
Antonio, who has been pivotal in Jamaica's recent campaigns and has five goals in 21 appearances, could only watch from afar as the Reggae Boyz fell short of the Nations League semi-final and, by extension, the next edition of the Concacaf Gold Cup.
They are now left to contest the preliminary round in March in order to book a spot in the prestigious tournament.
For Antonio, the ordeal was a learning experience, as his story highlights the challenges faced by dual-national athletes navigating complex travel requirements.
Still, the West Ham striker is back in England, ready to focus on club and country, but will likely double-check his passport before his next trip.
"In the times we’re in with AI and everything, you’re telling me I can’t leave the UK, where I was born, and fly to Ghana using my Jamaican passport, and I can’t come back to England without a visa?” he joked.
Kidd hails Mavs' character after road win over Nuggets
Jason Kidd hailed the character of his Dallas Mavericks team after their gutsy win over the Denver Nuggets.
The Mavericks overcame Luka Doncic's absence, and a triple-double from returning Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, to win 123-120 in Friday's NBA Cup game.
It also marked the third consecutive game the Mavericks have had seven players hit double figures.
The Mavericks appeared to be running away with a dominant win after leading by as many as 24 points early in the third quarter, only for the Nuggets to swiftly respond.
They struck a fierce 28-9 run in an eight-minute span to bring the game within single digits going into the final quarter, but the Mavericks held on for a fourth straight win.
"We were here 10 days ago, we learned from that situation, we kept our composure. This group stayed together," Kidd said.
"On the defensive end we made stops and on the offensive end we made some big plays.
"We didn't finish the game 10 days ago. But the guys stepped up. Defensively, we did what we had to do. A lot of small things that we cleaned up from the last time we were here.
"This is a character game for us. Again without Luka, on the road, we were just in this situation in Oklahoma City. The games are too close for us to make mistakes late.
"This team has a lot of character, a lot of trust and we're becoming a team - it's still early in the season, we've had some injuries, but it's about the next man up and those guys are stepping up."
Dallas (9-7) improved to 2-1 in West Group C to keep their hopes of being one of eight teams to advance to the knockout round. The Mavericks trail the Golden State Warriors, who improved to 3-0 in Group Play after Friday’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
It was also a night to remember for Naji Marshall, who scored a career-high 26 points off the bench.
After scoring 15 points in the second half of Tuesday’s game against the Pelicans, Marshall scored 16 points in the first half on Friday.
Marshall had only two 15-point halves in his career prior to accomplishing the feat in consecutive halves, with Kidd showering praise for his recent displays.
"Just the trust. Marshall was playing extremely well for us. With the game on the line, he makes a floater with one second left on the shot clock," Kidd said.
"The confidence the guys have in him on the offensive end and defensive end [helps]."
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