Lithuania slays USA to stay unbeaten

MANILA, Philippines – An impressive Lithuania squad imposed its size and superiority in ball movement and shooting to frustrate USA, 110-104, dealing the Americans their first loss in a battle of undefeated squads in  the FIBA World Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena Sunday.

Vaidas Karininiauskas scored 15 points, Mindaugas Kuzmikskas chipped in 14, and Jonas Valanciunas of the New Orleans Pelicans added 12 for the quarterfinals-bound Lithuania, which ended up as the top seed in Group J with a 5-0 win-loss record.

Anthony Edwards dumped a game-high 35 points to carry the Americans, who are likewise still through to the quarterfinals with a 4-1 slate.

The Lithuanians thoroughly outgunned the Americans in the first two periods, entering halftime with a 54-37 lead, in a game they never trailed since Edwards' opening basket gave USA their only lead at 2-0.

"Great basketball game. Lithuania just came out of the gates on fire. I think they made their first nine or 10 threes, took it to us," said USA coach Steve Kerr, whose players got hammered on the boards, 27-43.

The Americans though recovered in the third to make things interesting, chipping away Lithuania's cushion to just six, 71-65, after the period.

"I loved the way our guys fought back, played much better in the second half, competed like crazy and gave it a really good run. But it wasn't enough," Kerr added.

Lithuania repelled USA's late fightback, knocking down crucial free throws as the Americans played the foul game to buy time.

"We're happy, but we cannot be too happy," said Karininiauskas, whose team is bracing for a much tougher quarterfinal round.

The Lithuanians will face the Serbians, while the Americans will take on the Italians in the knockout quarterfinal round that starts Tuesday at the same venue.