Final Score: United States 98, Turkey 77
(Getty)
The final score was more or less what most people expected. The way it happened was not.
The United States basketball team beat Turkey 98-77 Sunday in Game 2 of FIBA World Cup group play. But the Americans, who hadn’t faced a serious challenge from anyone all summer, trailed by 5 at the half before pulling away in the third quarter and building an insurmountable lead in the fourth.
Check out the full box score here and read on for a recap and highlights.
Kenneth Faried Led Team USA With 22 Points
Kenneth Faried, one of the few Americans who played well in the first half, had a game-high 22 points on 11-for-14 shooting and a game-high 8 rebounds to lead Team USA.
Faried, who had 8 points in the first half, also finished with 2 blocks and 3 steals.
Anthony Davis Scored All 19 of His Points in the 2nd Half
No individual development was bigger in the Americans’ second-half surge than Anthony Davis coming alive.
The New Orleans Pelicans big man was held scoreless in the first half but had 19 in the second. He finished 8-for-11 from the floor and added 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals.
James Harden (14 points), Kyrie Irving (13) and DeMarcus Cousins (11) joined Faried and Davis in double figures for the Americans, who outscored the Turks 63-37 in the second half after being outscored 40-35 in the first.
Team USA Opened the 4th Quarter on a 10-0 Run to Pull Away
If there was any doubt about the outcome of the game, the Americans removed it in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.
Team USA entered the quarter up 66-60, but used a 10-0 run to open a 76-60 lead on a pair of James Harden free throws with 7:52 left in the game.
Team USA Came to Life in the 3rd Quarter
#USABMNT found the on switch. Some of you guys really thought they would lose lol.
— Dennis Sarow (@CoachSarow0220) August 31, 2014
The United States wasn’t perfect offensively in the third quarter, but the Americans looked far more like the dominant team they’ve been all year in the third quarter than they did in the first half.
Anthony Davis, who didn’t score in the first half, scored 11 points in the quarter, helping the U.S. outscore Turkey 31-20 in the quarter to build a 66-60 lead.
After Ender Arslan hit a 3 with 7:29 left in the third quarter to give Turkey a 51-45 lead, Team USA went on an 8-0 run and took a 53-51 lead on a Kenneth Faried dunk with 5:22 left in the quarter.
So far, Turkey has held off the big U.S. run you’d expect out of halftime and started banging three’s. Turkey, 51-45.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) August 31, 2014
U.S. is starting to score easily on Turkey, w/ Anthony Davis awaking for big third quarter. Still, Turkey’s determined. Popping 3’s. 59-all.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) August 31, 2014
Turkey Played Lights-Out Defense & Led by 5 at the Half
Turkey’s Ender Arslan and the United States’ Kyrie Irving go after a ball in the first half. (Getty)
Playing against a matchup zone defense, the United States was out of sorts offensively in the second quarter and headed into the break facing a 40-35 deficit as a result.
U.S. trailing Turkey 40-35 at half. Turkey coach Ergin Ataman delivering a clinic. Also, they didn’t let USA’s coach bring ACC officials.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) August 31, 2014
Turkey controlled the tempo throughout the quarter, slowing the game down and forcing 10 U.S. turnovers. Turkey also out-rebounded the U.S. 21-12 in the half.
Emir Preldzic’s 3 with 58 seconds left in the half capped a 6-0 mini-run for the Turks and put them ahead 38-32. The U.S. trailed 40-35 and had a chance to make it a one-possession game, but Derrick Rose threw the ball out of bounds, ending what was by far the Americans’ worst half of the summer.
Cenk Akyol had 9 points at the half to lead the Turks, while Baris Hersek and Emir Preldzic added 8 apiece. Keneth Faried and DeMarcus Cousins had 8 points apiece to lead the Americans.
Turkey Started Strong, but Team USA Used a 9-0 Run to Surge Ahead
And to think some were debating a few weeks ago whether or not Faried belonged on this roster. SMH. He’s the ideal fit. #USABMNT #Spain2014
— Sekou Smith (@SekouSmithNBA) August 31, 2014
The Turks got off to a strong start and took a 10-5 lead after a Sinan Guler free throw with 6:48 left in the first quarter. But the Americans went on a 9-0 run and took a 14-10 lead on a Kenneth Faried layup with 4:18 left in the quarter.
Turkey answered with a 6-0 run to take a 16-14 lead on an Emir Preldzic jumper with 54 seconds left in the quarter. DeMarcus Cousins’ layup on Team USA’s next possession made it 16-16, and that was the score at the end of the first quarter.
Starting Lineups
United States:
G Kyrie Irving
G James Harden
G Steph Curry
F Kenneth Faried
F Anthony Davis
Turkey:
G Ender Arslan
G Sinan Guler
F Cenk Akyol
F Baris Hersek
C Omer Asik
