Team USA pulls away from Turkey after sluggish three quarters

Meanwhile, the Americans survived a difficult game plan by Turkey, and Croatia and Argentina went blow-for-blow as Luis Scola scored 30 points in a losing effort.

Here’s a look at the complete results from Sunday. For a more visual look at group standings through two days of action, take a peek at the FIBA website.

The FIBA World Cup continues unabated, but there was one very strange character sitting courtside for USA vs. Turkey. The only problem is working out what the heck it is.

We’ll wait for the scientific report to make a final determination, but right now there are a few prevailing theories.

The rest of Team USA could use a little bit of Kenneth Faried’s relentlessness. The forward led the United States with 22 points and eight rebounds in a testy 98-77 victory against Turkey on Sunday. It was far from the 114-55 blowout against Finland a day prior.

USA’s second win in the FIBA World Cup was filled with lessons stemming from a smart game plan on the part of the Turkish squad.

We think this mask is appropriate.

Kyrie Irving’s alleys don’t need an oop:

If you’ve ever watched the PBA or read Rafe Bartholomew’s Pacific Rims, you know sneaky dirtiness is particularly popular in basketball in the Philippines. Greece’s Kostas Papanikolaou learned that the hard way when L.A. Tenorio gave him a little downstairs high-five toward the end of Greece’s win Sunday:

Unnecessary. Funny, but unnecessary.

Day 1 of the 2014 FIBA World Cup featured a couple close calls, but no upsets. Will Day 2 be any different?

The biggest upset of the day would happen if Turkey could somehow defeat Team USA in a rematch of the 2010 FIBA World Championships. The problem is that this isn’t the same Turkey squad that advanced that far. After struggling in warm-up games, Turkey needed a fourth-quarter rally to top a New Zealand team that doesn’t have Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams. Top stars Hedo Turkoglu, Ersan Ilyasova and Enes Kanter all stayed home, leaving New Orleans Pelicans center Omer Asik and longtime European star Emir Preldzic all by themselves. Meanwhile, Team USA was in full flight in a dominating 114-55 win over Finland that somehow was even more lopsided than the final score.

Blowing past Finland 114-55 was a solid opening for USA Basketball in the 2014 World Cup, and the impression it made on the rest of Group C was that field goals will be hard to come by. Turkey is next up and will face Mike Krzyzewski’s team on Sunday afternoon hoping it can hunt down decent shot opportunities.

For the United States, avoiding complacency after a blowout victory is an obvious focus. Building more offensive familiarity with one another and continuing to impress on defense against a Turkish squad that is more versatile than Finland will be keys.