SYDNEY -- Team USA is confident it is heading in the right direction after wrapping up its preparations for the FIBA World Cup with an 84-68 win over Canada in Sydney, Australia, on Monday night.
Gregg Popovich's side needed to respond after suffering its first loss in 13 years -- a 98-94 defeat by Australia in Melbourne on Saturday -- and it did so by repelling an early attacking onslaught from Canada before coasting to a 16-point win.
While by no means the perfect outing, Team USA enjoyed patches of sparkling play that had a 15,000-strong crowd at Qudos Bank Arena on its feet.
"I think we're just scratching the surface. That's just me saying what I'm saying; obviously I think we have a lot of room to improve," said Jaylen Brown, who led the U.S. scorers with 19 points.
"I'm biased, of course. But we still come out and play, we've got some good talent and we just have to continue to work together [until] it falls in place seamlessly. It's a little bit rugged; it's not fluid yet. But we'll get there."
Brown shot 72% from the field in what was an impressive 19-minute performance off the bench, not that the Celtics guard was getting carried away with his own personal contribution.
"I'm just trying to find spots, a lot of those guys are drawing a lot of attention -- Kemba [Walker], Donovan [Mitchell], JT [Jayson Tatum] -- I'm just trying to be aggressive and find spots and making the other team to have to space the floor and making the right plays, that's it."
Brown's new Celtics teammate Kemba Walker was happy with the way his side responded to Saturday's defeat, but acknowledged there was much more work to do before Team USA opened its World Cup campaign in China against the Czech Republic on Sept. 1.
"Very impressed, a lot of young guys, new team, and for us to respond the way we did was big time," Walker, who had 12 points on 60 percent shooting, said.
"It's all about the bounce-back for the most part, so now hopefully we can understand the way we need to play in order to win games. We're going to be locked in and keep watching film and continue to get better. That's all we can do."
In what was a lighter moment to finish what had been a big 10 days of basketball in Australia, fans began to chant feverishly for Brook Lopez as the clock wore down.
The towering Milwaukee Bucks center was at loss to explain his newfound popularity, but he was glowing in praise for his team's experience Down Under, which came to a close on the same court where the U.S. had won the 2000 Olympic gold medal.
"I don't honestly [know]," Lopez said when asked to explain the crowd's chanting of 'Lopez, Lopez, Lopez'. "I was hoping that they'd keep Pop happy -- he was trying to fight it a little bit -- but he finally acquiesced there at the end.
"It's there, that love -- it was unreal. I'm going to have text Bogues [Andrew Bogut] and ask him what the professional league is like out here and come out here and team up with him."