Team USA advanced to the 2014 FIBA World Cup final with a 96-68 victory over Lithuania on Thursday. The semifinal matchup wasn't much trouble for the Americans in Madrid, as they held Jonas Valanciunas and the Lithuanians to just 30 percent shooting from the field.
USA vs. Lithuania final score: 3 things we learned from Team USA’s blowout win
Team USA has booked a spot in the 2014 FIBA World Cup final after a lopsided win over Lithuania on Thursday.
The dominant defensive effort keyed the win for the U.S., which will now face either France or Serbia on Sunday in the final. One more victory would give the Americans a goal medal and guaranteed qualification to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Kyrie Irving was the leading scorer for Team USA with 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting. He also added four assists in the win. James Harden added 16 points and three steals, while Klay Thompson came off the bench to score 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
Mindaugas Kuzminskas led Lithuania with 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Valanciunas added 15 points and seven rebounds in the loss, which sends the team home with a semifinal finish.
3 things we learned
1. The defense is rounding into form
Team USA delivered arguably its best defensive performance of the tournament Thursday, limiting a talented Lithuanian team to fewer than 20 points in every quarter. If it weren’t for a 32-of-42 effort from the charity stripe, Lithuania’s scoring would look even more paltry.
That’s pretty impressive for the Americans, who had allowed more than 70 points in four of their past five games. Lithuania isn’t a high-scoring team -- it hasn’t topped 80 points since the group stage opener against Mexico -- but this is the kind of defensive effort you wanted to see from Coach K’s team leading up to the final.
2. Offensive rebounding continues to be key
After racking up an incredible 24 offensive rebounds against Slovenia, the U.S. kept it going with 18 offensive rebounds in the win Thursday. Eight different players grabbed at least one, and it continues to be one of the major strengths of the team.
The Americans haven't shot opponents out of the gym in this tournament like we've occasionally seen in the past, but the effort on the offensive boards has been a big part of being effective on that end. Kenneth Faried, Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins have led done the hard work, and it should play a key aspect in their plans for the final.
3. The team has a chance at history
For all the talk leading up to the World Cup, the 2014 version of Team USA could go down as a great one. After the 28-point win on Thursday, the Americans have a chance to become the first team in history to win every game of a single FIBA Championships (or World Cup) run by at least 20 points.
The 1994 team won the world championship with a margin of 15 points or greater in every game, but no team has been as consistently dominant as this one. The Americans have been lucky to mostly avoid challenging opponents so far, but given the questions surrounding this team a month ago, it has to be proud of what it’s accomplishing.
Highlight of the game
Easy call here. Who guessed Faried as the highlight champion of the tournament?
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