FIBA WORLD CUP CHINA 2019: FIBA World Cup Review: USA see off Turkey in overtime, Giannis fouls out in Greece loss
Khris Middleton made two free throws late on in overtime to ensure the United States edged past Turkey.
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Gregg Popovich’s United States team survived an almighty fright in the FIBA World Cup as they claimed a 93-92 overtime victory over Turkey in Shanghai.
Turkey had a chance to hand USA their first preliminary round loss in the competition since 1998 and were one point up in the final 10 seconds.
However, they missed four free throws in the dying embers and Khris Middleton made no mistake with his pair of tries to spare USA’s blushes and send them into the second round.
Elsewhere, Joe Ingles’ statline of 17-10-9 ensured Australia made it two wins from two in a 81-68 victory over Senegal while Middleton’s Milwaukee Bucks team-mate Giannis Antetokounmpo’s fouled out in Greece’s 79-78 loss to Brazil.
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USA SURVIVE UPSET SCARE
Even a depleted USA roster was expected to have few issues in the early stages of the tournament, but Turkey came close to pulling off a huge upset against the defending champions.
Popovich’s team were five points up in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, yet a 7-0 run from Turkey meant the game went down to the wire.
A foul on Jayson Tatum at the buzzer gave him three free throws, and USA would have won in regulation had he made them all – but he could only drain two.
Turkey had a five-point advantage in the additional period and twice had an opportunity to go three points up with nine seconds remaining only for Douglas Balbay and Cedi Osman to fluff their lines from the free-throw line.
Middleton kept his cool as USA survived a scare on the court, though Boston Celtics star Tatum appeared to pick up a worrying looking ankle injury at the end.
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GIANNIS’ GREECE GO DOWN
The NBA’s reigning MVP Antetokounmpo had a day to forget as Greece suffered a narrow loss to Brazil that mean the South Americans booked their spot in the second round.
Antetokounmpo had fouled out by the time Greece tried to tie the game up late on and force overtime, but Kostas Sloukas could only make two of his three free-throws with two seconds remaining as Brazil claimed a one-point success.
Former Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors center Anderson Varejao led all scorers with 22 points while Antetokounmpo had just 13 in his 28 minutes on court.
Elsewhere in Group F, New Zealand beat Montenegro 93-83.
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INGLES COMES CLOSE TO HISTORY AS BOOMERS WIN AGAIN
There has never been a triple-double in a FIBA World Cup but Ingles came close to a slice of history as Australia eased past Senegal.
Ingles was one assist away from a triple-double, contributing nine of their 28 assists as the Boomers warmed up for their clash with Lithuania, who joined them in the second round with a 92-69 triumph.
In Group G, France also moved to 2-0 with a 103-64 thrashing of Jordan, while Dominican Republic kept their unbeaten start intact by beating Germany 70-68.
The day’s other game saw Czech Republic defeat Japan 89-76.
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