FIBA Basketball Overview: USA dominates Serbia for Gold

GROUP PLAY

Aug. 30- def Finland 114-55

Aug. 31- def Turkey 98-77

Sept. 2- def New Zealand 98-71

Sept. 3- def Dominican Republic 106-71

Sept. 4- def Ukraine 95-71

ROUND of 16

Sept. 6- def Mexico 86-63

QUARTERS

Sept. 9- def Slovenia 119-76

SEMIFINALS

Sept. 11- def Lithuania 96-68

FINALS

Sept. 14- def Serbia 129-92

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The USA basketball team had a couple of bumps in this year’s FIBA World Cup, but as the tournament went on, the team got better and better.

While in Group C play, USA got the tourney going with a strong performance against Finland. They went up 62-18 at half after allowing just two second-quarter points. Klay Thompson and DeMarcus Cousins had game-highs with 18 points and 10 boards respectively.

The first bump came in the first half against Turkey. After one, the two were tied at 16 and the USA trailed at halftime, 40-35. Kenneth Faried finished with 22 points and eight rebounds as the US outscored Omer Asik and Turkey 63-37 in the second half.

They had little to no trouble against New Zealand and the Dominican Republic, while Anthony Davis scored 21 versus NZL and Faried had 16 versus DR.

In their final group-game, James Harden scored 17, Faried grabbed eight boards and Kyrie Irving dished out six dimes in their 24-point victory over Ukraine. However, the US scored just 14 points in the first and trailed by five, but led by 12 at half.

USA’s lowest scoring output came in the round of 16 against Mexico, but allowed just 38 points through three quarters.

In the quarters, the US would take on the Suns’ Goran Dragic and his brother Zoran of Slovenia. They scored 37 in the third quarter, their most in any quarter to that point. Thompson had 20 points, Davis grabbed 11 boards and Derrick Rose dished out five assists. USA had a seven-point halftime lead, but outscored Slovenia in the second half by 36.

Against Lithuania in the semis, the US allowed less than 20 points in every quarter, first and only game they did so in the tourney. Irving led with 18 points and four assists. Again, the US had a small halftime lead, eight, but outscored the opposition in the second half, 53-33.

The Gold Medal game was over quickly as USA got out to a 14-point lead after the first quarter and led by 26 at the break. Irving had a game-high 26 points while Harden added 23. USA shot 15-of-30 from three (50 percent).

Team USA has now won the last five tournaments (2 FIBA World, 2 Olympics, 1 FIBA America). They have won 63 straight games — 45 in official FIBA events and 18 in exhibition play — and are automatically qualified for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. It’s the first time that Team USA won back-to-back World Championships.

Irving was named tournament Most Valuable Player.

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All-FIBA Team

PG- Kyrie Irving (USA)

SG- Milos Teodosic (SRB)

SF- Nicolas Batum (FRA)

PF- Kenneth Faried (USA)

C- Pau Gasol (ESP)

FIBA MVP- Kyrie Irving (USA)

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Quarter-by-Quarter

1st- 221 (Opponent- 165)

2nd- 232 (Opponent- 146)

3rd- 250 (Opponent- 166)

4th- 228 (Opponent- 167)

First Half- 453 (Opponent- 311)

Second Half- 478 (Opponent- 333)

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FIBA Statistics Leaders

Points

Jose Juan Barea (PUR)- 22.0

USA- James Harden 14.2

Total Points

Pau Gasol (ESP)- 140

USA- James Harden 128

FG Percentage

Kenneth Faried (USA)- 63.7

2PT Field Goals

Jonas Valanciunas (LTU)- 69.6

USA- Kenneth Faried 64.6

3PT Field Goals

Francisco Garcia (DOM)- 64.3

USA- Kyrie Irving 60.9

Free Throws

David Huertas (PUR)- 93.3

USA- James Harden 81.0

Rebounds

Andray Blatche (PHI)- 13.8

USA- Kenneth Faried 7.8

Assists

Petteri Koponen (FIN)- 5.8

USA- Kyrie Irving 3.6

Minutes

Gorgui Dieng (SEN)- 36.3

USA- Kyrie Irving 24.3

Double-Doubles

Andray Blatche (PHI)- 5

USA – Kenneth Faried 2