Team USA survived Brazil 70-68

The shot bounced off the back rim, then the front, then finally fell out.

With that, the United States walked off the court with a victory, and another warning: A world championship won’t come easily for this young team—if it comes at all.

The Americans survived their first tough test in Turkey, edging Brazil 70-68 on Monday when Leandro Barbosa’s(notes) shot rattled out at the buzzer.

“This game right here was an eye opener,” U.S. guard Derrick Rose said.

Kevin Durant(notes) scored 27 points and Chauncey Billups(notes) added 15 for the Americans (3-0), who essentially clinched Group B with the victory. But they have bigger goals than a group championship, trying to end a 16-year U.S. drought in this event.

Team USA 2010, Kevin Durant fought past Lithuania

For the USA basketball squad, the first quarter of the game against Lithuania was a disaster.

In this tuneup for the World Championships, the Americans opened the game by shooting a despicable three of 21 from the field, highlighted by an astoundingly high six turnovers.

Fortunately, the team only trailed 15-7 and recovered from there.

As part of a 17-0 run to cap the third quarter and take the lead for the rest of the game, Eric Gordon made four free throws following a technical foul and a flagrant foul by Lithuania's Mantas Kalneitis.

The top performers for the team were Kevin Durant, who scored 15 points; Russell Westbrook, who had 12 points; and Rudy Gay, who had 14.

Their athleticism was clearly on display throughout the game. With a little over a minute left, Derrick Rose lobbed up an alley-oop pass to Rudy Gay, who finished the play with authority.

Later in the game, Andre Iguodala took the ball down the court before throwing down a tomahawk slam.

The American team—led by starters Rajon Rondo, Kevin Durant, Chauncy Billups, Andre Iguodala, and Tyson Chandler—did end up winning the game 77-61 and will take their undefeated record into the upcoming game against Spain.