Another sloppy start, another dominant victory at the 2014 FIBA World Cup. What else is new for USA Basketball?
After watching France pull off a quarterfinal upset against FIBA favorites (and hosts) Spain on Wednesday, Team USA did little in the first half to show they were hellbent on avoiding a similar fate. But defense, fast break points and superior talent once again came through for the Americans in the second half en route to a 96-68 victory over Lithuania.
The United States will advance to the gold medal game on Sunday, where they await the winner of Serbia and France.
In the first half, Team USA shot 33 percent from the field and made only four their 16 attempts from three-point range as they carried a 43-35 advantage into the break. If not for Klay Thompson‘s 14 first half points off the bench, the Americans might have found themselves staring at a halftime deficit thanks to early foul trouble. Stephen Curry, James Harden and Kenneth Faried all had three fouls before the halfway point of the second quarter and Lithuania enjoyed being in the bonus for most of the first half.
The Americans did force 12 Lithuanian turnovers in the first half and held their opponent to 31 percent shooting in what was a pretty ugly game at first. But in the second half, Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s squad flipped the switch.
The United States went on a 18-2 run to start the second half and from then on, the game was all but out of reach for Lithuania. The Americans outscored their opponent by a 33-14 margin in the quarter. At that point, it became a typical USA FIBA game with the United States turning turnovers and missed shots into quick, easy and high-flying transition points:
After looking like the Derrick Rose of old in Team USA’s victory against Slovenia, Rose took a slight step backward against the Lithuanians. Though he still looked explosive off the bounce and was a pest on the defensive end, Rose struggled to convert attacking the basket, couldn’t knock down his jumpers and committed three turnovers in the first half. Rose ended up with four points on 1-of-8 shooting.
James Harden also struggled early, starting 0-for-3 from the floor and being held scoreless in the first half. But like the rest of Team USA, Harden came out guns blazing in the second half, hitting his first two shots, including a three to give the Americans a 51-35 advantage just a few minutes into the third quarter. Harden finished with 16 points — all of which came in the third — on 6-of-11 shooting.
Despite struggling with foul trouble for most of the game, Stephen Curry chipped in 13 points on 50 percent shooting. Anthony Davis and Kenneth Faried, two of Team USA’s best players so far in the tournament, were mostly held in check. Davis had eight points, six rebounds and two blocks while Faried added nine points and six boards.
Kyrie Irving led the Americans with 18 points, Thompson finished 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting while Davis and DeMarcus Cousins both fouled out thanks to each receiving a technical foul. Boogie has been mostly good about controlling his temper at FIBA, but after catching an elbow from Jonas Valanciunas, he was not a happy camper:
Toronto Raptors big man Jonas Valanciunas had been a focal point of Lithuania’s offense heading into the semifinal, but he finished with only 15 points and seven rebounds, most of which came with the game already decided. Houston Rockets reserve Donatas Motiejunas was also a bit of a non-factor, putting up only two points and three rebounds. Mindaugas Kuzminskas led the Lithuanians with 15 points and boards rebounds while Adas Juskevicius added 12.
With Spain shockingly eliminated in the quarterfinals, Team USA’s path to the gold medal is a pretty straight shot. France has already proven they can execute a game plan against a superior opponent and Serbia has beaten some heavily favored teams en route to the semifinals, but the United States will clearly be an overwhelming favorite to take home the gold medal after winning all eight games by 20 points or more so far.