But they are very likely to give 4 of that back in the pairs. If JPN/USA go 1/2 in the singles, with JPN ahead in one discipline and USA in the other, then USA will win by one point. That is a likely scenario. For JPN to win, they would have to win both singles (then there would be a tie?) or one of the USA singles would have to come below second.I think the U.S. can breathe a little easier now that Chock and Bates have increased the lead over Japan to 5.. Anything can happen, but 2nd for Amber should be enough to seal it.
The lead is irrelevant. It just happened that the comp stopped after the USA's best discipline. If only the pairs free had been today, JPN would be leading now, even if the overall outcome would be the same.