Team USA managed to bounce-back from a hiccup against Lithuania on Sunday when they lost by a score of 110-104 to cruise past Italy into the semi-final round of the tournament. While the Americans got contributions up and down their roster, Mikal Bridges was the guy who ended up leading his team past Italy, leading to some effusive praise from Jalen Brunson after the game.

For much of the tournament, Anthony Edwards has been the guy powering Team USA's offense, but that wasn't the case in this one. Bridges was on fire for much of this game (24 PTS, 7 REB, 1 AST, 8/11 FGM) and helped turn this game into a blowout from the get-go. After the victory, Bridges' former Villanova teammate in Brunson talked about how big of an impact Bridges' elite two-way play has had on Team USA.

Bridges was known primarily for his defense before getting traded to the Brooklyn Nets as part of the Kevin Durant blockbuster that took place last season. Bridges ended up taking a massive step forward during his time with the Nets (26.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.7 APG, 47.5 FG%), proving that he could be just as good on offense as he is on defense.

Sure enough, Bridges' talent was on full display against Italy, as he consistently outclassed them, despite the fact that he didn't even play in half of the game. Jalen Brunson is clearly a fan of Mikal Bridges' style of play, and with Team USA officially in the semi-finals, they will need Bridges to continue performing at a high level if they intend on walking away as the winner of the tournament.