FIBA World Cup: USA Runs Away with Gold; Increase Win-Streak to 63
Cory Doyle | | Sep 14, 2014 09:48 PM EDT |
(Photo : SportsCenter )
Team USA dominated Serbia 129-92, winning another consecutive gold medal at the 2014 FIBA World Cup Champions.
Considering Serbia was ranked 11th by FIBA, just reaching the gold-medal game to earn silver was a huge accomplishment in itself. They pulled major upsets over Brazil and France in the tournament for the gold-medal opportunity.
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Serbia actually had a great start setting the tempo of the game. They were spreading the floor and getting efficient looks near the basket, making every one of their first seven shots. They had a 15-7 lead over USA within the first four minutes.
However, USA quickly rallied back thanks in large part due to Kyrie Irving catching fire with three 3-pointers and a couple transition buckets for a total of 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
James Harden also added a 3-pointer after a 3-point play, and all of a sudden USA found themselves closing the first quarter on a 28-6 run.
Like many previous games in the tournament, USA began to have foul trouble with Kenneth Faried and Anthony Davis going to the bench each with three fouls.
USA broke Serbia's will in the second quarter with some of the most efficient 3-point shooting in the whole FIBA World Cup. They finished the first half shooting nearly 69 percent from behind the arc, and outscoring Serbia 67-41.
Serbia was closer to keeping up with USA during the third quarter, but USA's shooting efficiency was still too much for Serbia to make any sort of come-back.
Kyrie Irving continued his brilliant shooting with back-to-backs 3-pointers mid-way through the third quarter.
With a 38-point lead, Team USA knew the game was theirs as they coasted through the fourth quarter to seal the win.
A very impressive eight players scored in double-figures for USA in an overall great team-effort, but Kyrie Irving and James Harden stole the spotlight with efficient scoring and 3-point shooting.
Irving finished the game with 26 points and four assists, shooting 10-of-13 from the field including 6-of-6 from being the arc.
James Harden followed close behind putting up 23 points on an efficient 8-of-11 from the field including 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
Team USA has now increased their winning streak to 63 consecutive games throughout international competition. The last time USA lost an international game in the FIBA World Cup, including the Olympics, was during the 2006 FIBA Tournament.
USA will be looking to continue their success in the next major international competition once the 2016 Summer Olympics roll around.
TagsFIBA World Cup, Team USA, Serbia, Gold Medal, Silver, Finals, International basketball, win-streak
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