LeBron James saves the blushes for Team USA – USA wins 99-94 against Lithuania: 2nd Half Breakdown - London Olympics Men Basketball Recap Part 3
Trailing by just 51-55, the Lithuanians carried on with their momentum in the second half.
Jonas Valanciunas opened the third period with layup and seconds later Sarunas Jasikevicius drilled a three pointer to give Lithuania their first lead, since the opening seconds of the game, 56-55.
LeBron James followed with a two point shot to reverse the one point lead and after Kevin Durant sank a three pointer on a Chris Paul dish, the Miami Heat forward knocked down a jumper to make it 62-56 and ensure some stability
for USA.
The European side however just kept on bouncing back and from 4:54 to 3:12, they reeled off a 6-0 run to tie the game at 67 apiece. USA managed to outscore the Lithuanians 11-5 in the final minutes of the third quarter though,
and went into the last 10 minutes with a 78-72 advantage.
Carmelo Anthony started the final quarter with a jumper to make it an eight point game, but Martynas Pocius and Linas Kleiza took over after that.
In what was a 10 point unanswered run, Pocius started with a three point play, which was followed by a two point shots apiece from him and Kleiza. On the next possession, Kevin Durant clanked a jumper, but Carmelo got the offensive
rebound and the ball found its way to Kobe Bryant, who tried a triple but missed.
With the tide turning against his team, Mike Krzyzewski called a time out. What ensued immediately afterwards though, was a Kleiza triple and all of a sudden, Lithuania were in a position to run away with the game. They led by
82-20 and with 4:12 remaining they were just trailing by 86-87.
That’s when LeBron James took over the game.
The King started with a three pointer and then slammed the rim for a dunk after CP3 made a steal on the Lithuanian possession.
His assault pushed the American lead to six, and after Deron Williams found his range from the land of three, the Miami Heat forward provided the finishing touches to the game with a couple of deuces, ensuring a 99-94 win.
The Americans will take on the Argentineans in their last preliminary round fixture while Lithuania take on Tunisia.
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