Dirk Nowitzki, Germany Continue to Struggle in Loss to Turkey

This game was bad from the very beginning for Dirk Nowitzki and Germany.

Turkey started the game on a 9-0 run that left the German crowd in Berlin pretty quiet from the very beginning. So quite naturally, it took only a few minutes into the game to see Dirk in his pissed off form.

With a Turkey team led by Detroit Pistons forward Ersan Ilyasova, they found themselves leading Germany 31-11 at the end of the first quarter. Germany had small spurts where they cut the lead under 15, but could never get it under single digits until the last few minutes of the game.

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In the fourth quarter, a German team without Dirk on the floor, cut the lead all the way down to 7 points under the charge of Dennis Schroder. Schroder took the team on his back and showed his speed in the open court along with his penetration to the basket. Nowitzki came back into the game in the last couple of minutes, but Germany was unable to get a few more stops on a well-rounded Turkey team.

Turkey had 5 players in double figures in a shortened down rotation. In a team led by Ilyasova, it was Semih Erden that put up the most impressive game. The Turkish center recorded 15 points, 9 boards, 4 assists, and 4 blocks while making his presence known throughout the whole game.

Dennis Schroder led the way for Germany by recording 24 points, 6 boards, and 5 assists. Dirk Nowitzki followed up his third game in a row with 15 points and 5 boards on just 24 minutes. See full box score here.

On a more positive note, as mentioned on our Twitter account, Dirk’s jumper seems to have more lift in his legs. With the worry of international ball taking a toll on Dirk’s body, he seems to be in excellent shape and well maintained by the German coaching staff.

Catch Dirk & Germany tomorrow on ESPN3 at 11:45AM as they face Italy.

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