USA trounces Lithuania, reaches FIBA World Cup final
USA 96, LITHUANIA 68
WHAT HAPPENED
BARCELONA — The let's-go-to-Madrid moment came with 5 minutes, 30 seconds left in the third quarter, when Anthony Davis was reliving his Chicago high school days and running the point against these Lithuanians, who always seem to play Team USA so tough.
It was Davis to Kyrie Irving, and then the lob back to Davis, who finished the "smash-ala" in traffic and earned all that astonishment from the Palau Sant Jordi crowd in this FIBA World Cup semifinal win that put the Americans in the Sunday finale in Madrid. It was an 18-2 run to start the third quarter at that point. More than that, it was another sign that — especially with powerhouse host Spain having been so shockingly upset by France on Wednesday night – the gold medal should be the Americans' soon enough.
Just as the Americans started slow against Slovenia on Tuesday, they couldn't find the bottom of the basket early in this one. But despite hitting only 15 of 36 shots in the first half, they led 43-35. Thompson had everything to do with it, as he hit six of 11 in the first half (two threes) for 14 points (he finished with 16) in his diamond-in-the-rough start.
Rose, whose strong outing against Slovenia sparked the return of the "He's back!" narrative, missed his first six shots and had three turnovers at the break. The silver lining for Chicago Bulls fans is that Rose is still blowing by defenders and doing almost everything he wants — othert than finishing at the rim. That will come, so no need to change the plot yet again just one game later here.
The Americans' defense, per their norm, kept them in a good position. Lithuania hit just nine of 29 shots in the first half, though their Jonas Valanciunas frontline that is so much more formidable than the USA's past opponents kept pace on the glass (they led 28-26 in rebounds at the break, though they trailed in the key category of offensive boards – 11 to seven – that Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski had talked so much about).
Irving led all scorers with 18 points on 8-for-15 shooting, and Harden had 16. Again, though, the defense was big: Lithuania shot just 30.4% from the field. The Americans won the rebounding battle 50-38 in the end.
HE SAID IT
"Whether it was nerves or us not hitting shots or us just figuring it out on the defensive end, we make adjustments at halftime and listen to our coaches and I think we all do a great job of locking in and focusing and trying to destroy teams in the second half," said point guard Kyrie Irving. "I mean, you know, obviously everybody wanted to see us play Spain, but we're not, so those questions can go out the window. It's all about Serbia and France, and we're going to prepare as best we can."
WHAT WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT
Not Spain, which still feels strange.
It's probably time to start talking about Klay Thompson, the Golden State Warriors guard who is becoming the latest NBA player to take the next step while playing with Team USA. No one thought he would be on this team a few months ago, and now he's indisputably the most consistent two-way player and a major reason they're coasting toward the finish line right now.
He entered Thursday averaging 12.3 points per game on 50% shooting overall and 41.3% from three-point range. Seven games in, Davis (13.7 per), Faried (13), and only Harden (12.7) had scored more, while Thompson's "Splash Brothers" running mate with the Warriors was averaging 10.4.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Americans don't know what's next quite yet, as France and Serbia square off in their semifinal game in Madrid on Friday night and the winner gets Team USA. Either team will likely be in over its proverbial head.
The French are the more highly regarded of the two, as they're ranked eighth in the world by FIBA (Serbia is 11th) and clearly pose problems even without countrymen Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs) and Joakim Noah (Chicago Bulls) in tow. They're 5-2 in the tournament in all, having lost to Brazil and Spain in their first meeting (by 24 points). Thus, the surprise that they're still here and Spain is not.
France, which has NBA players Nicolas Batum (Portland Trail Blazers), Evan Fournier (Orlando Magic), Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz), and Boris Diaw (Spurs), beat Serbia 74-73 in its second game of the World Cup. Gobert deemed his performance in the 65-52 win over Spain the best of his life, as his 13 rebounds and defensive presence were huge as France somehow contained the Spanish frontline of Marc Gasol, Pau Gasol and Serge Ibaka.