FIBA World Championship 2010: USA Cruises Past Croatia, 106-78

On Saturday, Team USA overcame a relatively slow start to cruise past Croatia, 106-78, in their first preliminary game of the 2010 FIBA World Championship. This was a rematch of the 1992 Olympic gold medal game, which, of course, the Dream Team won to capture the gold.

Croatia took a 19-18 lead in the first half, but Kevin Durant and company responded with a run that game them a 48-26 lead at halftime. Durant was the game’s top scorer, but Team USA spread the ball around pretty evenly. Here are game stats from USA’s top scorers:

Team USA is halfway through its first preliminary round game against Croatia, and it would be difficult to ask for a better first half. USA leads Croatia by a 48-26 score going into the locker room.

Croatia actually managed to lead 19-18 at one point, but Team USA responded with a 30-7 run to take a dominating lead. Unsurprisingly, the player of the game so far is Kevin Durant, who has nine points and six rebounds so far. Durant, the biggest NBA star to appear in the tournament, was dominant during last week’s game against Spain.

The 2010 FIBA World Championship, which is now in the preliminary stage of the tournament, features 24 teams from around the world. A brief crash course: in the preliminary stage, the teams are divided into four groups of six teams. Each team plays five games, one against every other member of the group, and the group’s top four finishers advance to the knockout stage. In other words, it’s a tournament structure similar to that of soccer’s World Cup.

The United States is in Group B, along with Slovenia, Tunisia, Brazil, Croatia, and Iran. Team USA plays its first preliminary match on Saturday against Croatia, the team it defeated in the gold medal game of the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.