We started with 24, now we are down to two. It is the final game of the 2010 FIBA World Championships between host Turkey and United States of America. This is the live-blog. Let's pray that no one gets hurt and we have ourselves a good game!
Pregame:
-Around 5 and 1/2 minutes to go in the 3rd place game. Lithuania (which upset Spain in group play and shockingly destroyed Argentina in the quarters before falling to Team USA) is up by 17 against Serbia (thriller of a quarterfinal against Spain, stunned by Turkey in the semis). I was very impressed by the Lithuanians. Boasting only one NBA player (Linas Kleiza) they didn't seem to be too much of a threat but they worked hard, made their shots and played tough D so if they do finish the tournament third, they truly deserve it.
-By the way, Spain finished 6th and Argentina, 5th.
-Okay, Lithuania wins 99-88 and takes the bronze. Kleiza finishes with 33. Let's get it on!
-US needs to limit turnovers. Defense will get them opportunities but they need to be able to convert.
-Turkey has to protect the lane and keep'em on the perimeter. Hedo needs to step up.
-Durant will be only 29 and in his prime for the 2018 FIBA World Championships.
First Quarter:
-Derrick Rose to the rack on their first possession but Turkey answers right away to tie the game, 2-2
-Durant hits his first j.
-Sweet KD step-back 3. My goodness.
-KD 3 makes it 12-7.
-So far, Turkey has been inconsistent offensively.
-Rose misses a 3.
-Hedo gets away with an elbow and actually draws a foul.
-Odom's bleeding. Hedo hit him in the face. Gangsta. Chandler in. Hedo hits 2 from the line, 12-9
-Hedo's throwing 'bows and making shots. Came to play today. His 3 cuts it to 12-14.
-Refs clearly being influenced by crowd.
-Turkoglu's second 3 gives Turkey the lead but he's just thrown an elbow at Chandler.
-After that little altercation, Asik scores to give Turkey a 17-14 lead.
-Kevin Durant, third 3. Ties the game at 17. Guy is on fire. Already with 11.
-Plays defense too. Stopped a fastbreak with a block. Curry hits a three and the US is back on top, 20-17.
-US has gone small. Gay at the 5, Durant at the 4 with three guards.
-Beautiful defense by the Americans, force a 24-second violation.
-Rudy Gay shouldn't be taking 3's from the corner if he's playing the 5 spot. Won't be able to get back in time to play D.
-Wow. KD got hammered but the refs don't call it. Luckily, Westbrook was there for the offensive rebound and he got fouled. Hits both. US up 22-17 at the end of the first.
-First quarter is already a classic. Hedo Turkoglu came to play today but unfortunately, he's in the locker room now getting treatment. KD with 11 and a spectacular block. US 4-10 from 3 already.
Second Quarter:
-US sticks with their small line-up and Westbrook drives down the lane to get the hoop and the harm. 25-17.
-Turkey forces the US center to travel at the top of the key.
-This one commentator is clearly biased. Rudy Gay accidentally hit Tunceri in the face. Relax. There was nothing dirty about it.
-Tunceri hits both, 21-27. Less than 7 to go in the half.
-US starting five back in. Durant misses 3, has gone cold.
-Iggy rotates perfectly and gets the block.
-Durant driving baseline, runs into a brick wall and draws the foul on Asik. KD slow to get up, appears to be a little winded.
-Gets a split from the line, 28-21 USA. Turkey turns it over. That's their 10th.
-Durant nails a three from the corner, biggest lead of the game for the Americans, 31-21. He has 15.
-Hedo gets away with a foul and gets the rebound. Turkey turns it over again.
-Turkish zone forces an ugly Iguodala 3, Hedo hits his own. But KD answers right back. Ultimate zone-buster.
-Durant has 20 now, by the way.
-Billups' two FTs give USA a 10 point lead. 38-28, 2 and a half to go.
-Durant is 5-8 from 3, the rest of the team is 1-11.
-Turkey big Savas has now hit 3 of 4 from the line, cuts it to 7.
-Chauncey Billups with a horrible-looking 3 but Gay gets the board and puts it home, 40-31.
-Ersan Ilyasova to the line, 24.8 ticks left in the 2nd quarter. Gets a split.
-Last shot for Team USA. Westbrook appears to slip but draws the foul with 4.5 seconds left. Hits both. Lead back to 10.
-Gordon knocks the ball away and the half ends. 42-32
Halftime:
-Both teams with terrible shooting percentages (US 34% Turkey 35%) but their respective team leaders are playing well. Durant with 20, five 3's, 3 boards, 2 steals, 2 blocks. Turkoglu with 11, three 3's and 7 rebounds. Westbrook has 7, perfect from the line. Turkey with 5 more FT attempts but just one more made FT. Turnover story: Turkey 12, US 5.
Third Quarter:
-Here we go, Turkey with possession to start the last half of 2010 Worlds. Hedo misses the lay-up.
-Billups has to start penetrating and stop taking threes.
-US D forces another shot clock violation.
-And Durant hits another triple. Automatic. 45-32.
-KEVIN DURANT IS ON FIRE! ANOTHER THREE-POINTER! USA with their biggest lead of the game, up 16, 48-32.
-Wow. Turkey just left Rose and dared him to shoot that. Without Durant's 26, Turkey would actually be up.
-US on an 8-0 run to start the third, score is 50-32 now.
-Arslan hits a 3 to end the drought and Rose commits an offensive foul. Turkey needs to make their move now.
-Omar Asik can't put it in. Tapped out of bounds, last touch on the Americans.
-Iggy's offensive board leads to a wide-open Lamar Odom lay-in. US bench is standing up now, they know the gold medal is within reach.
-Arslan hits a three, cuts the deficit to 11, 41-52. USA timeout. Commentators are really biased.
-Out of the timeout, US turns it over but stops Turkey from scoring. For some reason, Turkey has gone to a man-to-man now. Gay hits a jumper off the dish from Iguodala, 54-41.
-Turks getting the calls but can't hit their FTs, failing to capitalize.
-Ilyasova with the miss, Durant the rebound, Westbrook the three, 57-41.
-Durant toyed with the little Turkish defender and just hit a beautiful jumper.
-Rose and Billups miss and that's the end of the third. US up 13, 61-48. Ten minutes to go 'til we crown the 2010 Worlds champion. US shooting has gotten better, Turks' has gotten worse. Ilyasova is a no-show.
Fourth Quarter:
-Rose turns it over on their first possession.
-Hedo hasn't returned. Injury could be serious.
-Rose with back-to-back fastbreak buckets. Maybe this can get him going. Up 17 now, 65-48.
-Future Boston Celtic Semih Erden just scored on Lamar Odom but Lakers fans need not worry., guy is a long way from actually being a factor in the NBA. Odom counters with a three from the corner.
-Fourth foul on Billups, Turkoglu comes back in, finally with 7:30 to go.
-Turkey has lost focus, down 20 now after Odom's fastbreak lay-up.
-Derrick Rose with the and-1. He's got six in the quarter, going for 7. Misses the FT but Odom tips it in. US up by 22 now, 74-52, 6 minutes to go.
-Rose and Odom have all 15 of Team USA's points this quarter.
-Four and a half to go in the quarter, US up by 19, this game is pretty much done.
-Westbrook is definitely benefiting from the shortened 3-pt line, hits the pull-up. Hedo counters with his own but with three minutes to go, it might be a little too late.
-Subs have come in (DANNY GRANGER TIME) and USA is already celebrating.
-Durant leaves with 42 seconds left. He didn't score in the 4th but his teammates picked up the slack. Finishes with 28 points, 7 threes, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and two blocks.
-And it's over. 83-64. Team USA wins their first World Championship in 16 years.
Postgame:
Derrick Rose and Lamar Odom picked up the slack in the 4th backing up Durant's superb play. Odom finishes with 15 and 11, RussWest with 13 and 6. Turkey was led by Turkoglu with 16, no one else reached double figures.
So the US "B-Team" takes the gold. Which players deserve to be back for the 2012 Olympics? Odom and Chauncey Billups played well but might be too old for it. Rose had an inconsistent tournament but if he continues to improve, he should right there. Eric Gordon, Rudy Gay and Andre Iguodala all played well in a support capacity. For me, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant have to be sure things. Westbrook was the only player who could penetrate a zone and Durant was just unstoppable at times. Team them up with LeBron, Wade, Dwight, D-Will, CP3 and Melo and fill the rest of the slots with bigs and role players and no one will be able stop Team USA.
Pregame:
-Around 5 and 1/2 minutes to go in the 3rd place game. Lithuania (which upset Spain in group play and shockingly destroyed Argentina in the quarters before falling to Team USA) is up by 17 against Serbia (thriller of a quarterfinal against Spain, stunned by Turkey in the semis). I was very impressed by the Lithuanians. Boasting only one NBA player (Linas Kleiza) they didn't seem to be too much of a threat but they worked hard, made their shots and played tough D so if they do finish the tournament third, they truly deserve it.
-By the way, Spain finished 6th and Argentina, 5th.
-Okay, Lithuania wins 99-88 and takes the bronze. Kleiza finishes with 33. Let's get it on!
-US needs to limit turnovers. Defense will get them opportunities but they need to be able to convert.
-Turkey has to protect the lane and keep'em on the perimeter. Hedo needs to step up.
-Durant will be only 29 and in his prime for the 2018 FIBA World Championships.
First Quarter:
-Derrick Rose to the rack on their first possession but Turkey answers right away to tie the game, 2-2
-Durant hits his first j.
-Sweet KD step-back 3. My goodness.
-KD 3 makes it 12-7.
-So far, Turkey has been inconsistent offensively.
-Rose misses a 3.
-Hedo gets away with an elbow and actually draws a foul.
-Odom's bleeding. Hedo hit him in the face. Gangsta. Chandler in. Hedo hits 2 from the line, 12-9
-Hedo's throwing 'bows and making shots. Came to play today. His 3 cuts it to 12-14.
-Refs clearly being influenced by crowd.
-Turkoglu's second 3 gives Turkey the lead but he's just thrown an elbow at Chandler.
-After that little altercation, Asik scores to give Turkey a 17-14 lead.
-Kevin Durant, third 3. Ties the game at 17. Guy is on fire. Already with 11.
-Plays defense too. Stopped a fastbreak with a block. Curry hits a three and the US is back on top, 20-17.
-US has gone small. Gay at the 5, Durant at the 4 with three guards.
-Beautiful defense by the Americans, force a 24-second violation.
-Rudy Gay shouldn't be taking 3's from the corner if he's playing the 5 spot. Won't be able to get back in time to play D.
-Wow. KD got hammered but the refs don't call it. Luckily, Westbrook was there for the offensive rebound and he got fouled. Hits both. US up 22-17 at the end of the first.
-First quarter is already a classic. Hedo Turkoglu came to play today but unfortunately, he's in the locker room now getting treatment. KD with 11 and a spectacular block. US 4-10 from 3 already.
Second Quarter:
-US sticks with their small line-up and Westbrook drives down the lane to get the hoop and the harm. 25-17.
-Turkey forces the US center to travel at the top of the key.
-This one commentator is clearly biased. Rudy Gay accidentally hit Tunceri in the face. Relax. There was nothing dirty about it.
-Tunceri hits both, 21-27. Less than 7 to go in the half.
-US starting five back in. Durant misses 3, has gone cold.
-Iggy rotates perfectly and gets the block.
-Durant driving baseline, runs into a brick wall and draws the foul on Asik. KD slow to get up, appears to be a little winded.
-Gets a split from the line, 28-21 USA. Turkey turns it over. That's their 10th.
-Durant nails a three from the corner, biggest lead of the game for the Americans, 31-21. He has 15.
-Hedo gets away with a foul and gets the rebound. Turkey turns it over again.
-Turkish zone forces an ugly Iguodala 3, Hedo hits his own. But KD answers right back. Ultimate zone-buster.
-Durant has 20 now, by the way.
-Billups' two FTs give USA a 10 point lead. 38-28, 2 and a half to go.
-Durant is 5-8 from 3, the rest of the team is 1-11.
-Turkey big Savas has now hit 3 of 4 from the line, cuts it to 7.
-Chauncey Billups with a horrible-looking 3 but Gay gets the board and puts it home, 40-31.
-Ersan Ilyasova to the line, 24.8 ticks left in the 2nd quarter. Gets a split.
-Last shot for Team USA. Westbrook appears to slip but draws the foul with 4.5 seconds left. Hits both. Lead back to 10.
-Gordon knocks the ball away and the half ends. 42-32
Halftime:
-Both teams with terrible shooting percentages (US 34% Turkey 35%) but their respective team leaders are playing well. Durant with 20, five 3's, 3 boards, 2 steals, 2 blocks. Turkoglu with 11, three 3's and 7 rebounds. Westbrook has 7, perfect from the line. Turkey with 5 more FT attempts but just one more made FT. Turnover story: Turkey 12, US 5.
Third Quarter:
-Here we go, Turkey with possession to start the last half of 2010 Worlds. Hedo misses the lay-up.
-Billups has to start penetrating and stop taking threes.
-US D forces another shot clock violation.
-And Durant hits another triple. Automatic. 45-32.
-KEVIN DURANT IS ON FIRE! ANOTHER THREE-POINTER! USA with their biggest lead of the game, up 16, 48-32.
-Wow. Turkey just left Rose and dared him to shoot that. Without Durant's 26, Turkey would actually be up.
-US on an 8-0 run to start the third, score is 50-32 now.
-Arslan hits a 3 to end the drought and Rose commits an offensive foul. Turkey needs to make their move now.
-Omar Asik can't put it in. Tapped out of bounds, last touch on the Americans.
-Iggy's offensive board leads to a wide-open Lamar Odom lay-in. US bench is standing up now, they know the gold medal is within reach.
-Arslan hits a three, cuts the deficit to 11, 41-52. USA timeout. Commentators are really biased.
-Out of the timeout, US turns it over but stops Turkey from scoring. For some reason, Turkey has gone to a man-to-man now. Gay hits a jumper off the dish from Iguodala, 54-41.
-Turks getting the calls but can't hit their FTs, failing to capitalize.
-Ilyasova with the miss, Durant the rebound, Westbrook the three, 57-41.
-Durant toyed with the little Turkish defender and just hit a beautiful jumper.
-Rose and Billups miss and that's the end of the third. US up 13, 61-48. Ten minutes to go 'til we crown the 2010 Worlds champion. US shooting has gotten better, Turks' has gotten worse. Ilyasova is a no-show.
Fourth Quarter:
-Rose turns it over on their first possession.
-Hedo hasn't returned. Injury could be serious.
-Rose with back-to-back fastbreak buckets. Maybe this can get him going. Up 17 now, 65-48.
-Future Boston Celtic Semih Erden just scored on Lamar Odom but Lakers fans need not worry., guy is a long way from actually being a factor in the NBA. Odom counters with a three from the corner.
-Fourth foul on Billups, Turkoglu comes back in, finally with 7:30 to go.
-Turkey has lost focus, down 20 now after Odom's fastbreak lay-up.
-Derrick Rose with the and-1. He's got six in the quarter, going for 7. Misses the FT but Odom tips it in. US up by 22 now, 74-52, 6 minutes to go.
-Rose and Odom have all 15 of Team USA's points this quarter.
-Four and a half to go in the quarter, US up by 19, this game is pretty much done.
-Westbrook is definitely benefiting from the shortened 3-pt line, hits the pull-up. Hedo counters with his own but with three minutes to go, it might be a little too late.
-Subs have come in (DANNY GRANGER TIME) and USA is already celebrating.
-Durant leaves with 42 seconds left. He didn't score in the 4th but his teammates picked up the slack. Finishes with 28 points, 7 threes, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and two blocks.
-And it's over. 83-64. Team USA wins their first World Championship in 16 years.
Postgame:
Derrick Rose and Lamar Odom picked up the slack in the 4th backing up Durant's superb play. Odom finishes with 15 and 11, RussWest with 13 and 6. Turkey was led by Turkoglu with 16, no one else reached double figures.
So the US "B-Team" takes the gold. Which players deserve to be back for the 2012 Olympics? Odom and Chauncey Billups played well but might be too old for it. Rose had an inconsistent tournament but if he continues to improve, he should right there. Eric Gordon, Rudy Gay and Andre Iguodala all played well in a support capacity. For me, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant have to be sure things. Westbrook was the only player who could penetrate a zone and Durant was just unstoppable at times. Team them up with LeBron, Wade, Dwight, D-Will, CP3 and Melo and fill the rest of the slots with bigs and role players and no one will be able stop Team USA.
No comments:
Post a Comment