FIBA World Cup: Team USA gets the Czech-mark; Day 2 takeaways

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(Photo by Yifan Ding/Getty Images) /

Team USA opened play in the FIBA World Cup with a solid victory over the Czech Republic in Shanghai as the other 16 teams played their openers Sunday.

Day 2 of the FIBA World Cup saw Team USA shake off a sluggish start Sunday to get a dominating win over the Czech Republic, while France held off Germany and Australia, Lithuania, Greece and Turkey all picked up blowout victories.

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Team USA fell behind early against the Czechs, 11-7, but put together a big second quarter against the mistake-prone Czech Republic to push their lead to 14 by halftime en route to an 88-67 victory at Shanghai in Group E play.

Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz led the way for the Americans with 16 points as Team USA shot 30-for-57 (52.6 percent) over the final three quarters after a cold start to the game.

Tomas Satoransky of the Chicago Bulls did what he could to keep the Czechs in the game with 17 points and five assists, but Team USA’s quick interior defense frustrated the Czech inside attack, as the Czech Republic shot just 18-for-46 (39.1 percent) from 2-point range and committed 15 turnovers to just seven by the U.S.

Mitchell was 7-for-11 from the floor and knocked down 2-of-4 from deep in a team-high 25 minutes as Team USA had four players in double-figures. Harrison Barnes of the Sacramento Kings finished with 14 points in 20 minutes, Kemba Walker of the Boston Celtics had 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting in 18 minutes of action and Celtics teammate Jayson Tatum scored 10 points.

France, meanwhile, got off to a winning start in Group G play, holding off Germany 78-74 in a game in which they never trailed after opening the game with a 14-0 burst and led 16-4 after the first quarter.

Evan Fournier of the Orlando Magic scored 26 points for France, which saw a 16-point halftime lead shrink to just two in the final minute before Fournier iced the game with a pair of free throws with 4.2 seconds to go.

But no game had more wild momentum swings than the Group H matchup between Canada and Australia, in which the Boomers scored 29 points in the first quarter and led by 12 at halftime, only to see the Canadians erupt for 37 third-quarter markers to take a one-point edge going into the fourth.

Australia took over from there, outpacing Canada 32-15 over the final 10 minutes for a deceptively decisive 108-92 victory behind 24 points and five assists from Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Matthew Dellavedova.

Team USA and Turkey posted convincing wins to open Group E play, with the Turks pulling away from Japan for an 86-67 win.

In Group F, Greece outclassed Montenegro 85-60 and Brazil hung on for a 102-94 win over New Zealand.

Group G had the closest games of Day 2. In addition to France’s four-point win over Germany, the Dominican Republic squandered all of a 15-point lead before hanging on for an 80-76 victory over Jordan.

Australia and Lithuania grabbed the upper hand in Group H. Lithuania started fast and never looked back while crushing Senegal 101-47.

Here’s a look at how the groups fared Sunday, with a look ahead to what’s coming up Monday.