New Zealand claim 2nd win in Turkey
The Tall Blacks are on a roll in the 2010 FIBA World Championships. After dropping their first two assignments, New Zealand notched their second-straight win in Group D with a 71-61 victory over Canada at the Halkapinar Sports Hall in Izmir on Wednesday.
Canada raced to an early 4-0 lead after back-to-back baskets from Joel Anthony and Denham Brown. But the Kiwis equalised moments later. The scores remained unchanged for more than two minutes as the two squads struggled with their shots. New Zealand closed out the period with an 11-8 lead.
The Kiwis threatened to pull away early in the second when they built a six-point lead. But the Canadians quickly came back to keep the game close. The Tall Blacks closed out the period with five straights points from Casey Frank to take a 35-28 half-time lead.
Led by veteran Kirk Penney, New Zealand started the second half with a 7-1 run to extend their advantage to 42-29. But the Canadians responded with a 5-0 run to come within 34-42. A free throw from Jevohn Shepherd cut New Zealand's lead to 38-44. But Frank responded with a trey moments later to extend the Kiwis' advantage to nine points. New Zealand ended the quarter with a 47-41 lead.
Canada, coached by Leo Rautins, remained aggressive in the fourth quarter, threatening several times. A three-point shot from Brown reduced New Zealand's lead to 57-62 with 1:43 left. But back-to-back three-pointers from Thomas Abercrombie and Penney foiled any hopes of a Canadian comeback. Two more free throws from Penney extended New Zealand’s lead to 70-59 with 28 seconds left. He added another free throw after Brown made a basket to settle the score lines.
Penney, who once played for the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers in the National Basketball Association, led the Kiwis with 18 points. Frank had 14 points and four rebounds while Phill Jones added 11 points. Young forward Abercrombie contributed seven points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Shepherd led the Canadians with 15 points. Anthony added 13 points and hauled down six boards while Brown finished with 12 points.
New Zealand will close out their group campaign against France tomorrow. The Kiwis lost to Lithuania (79-92) and Spain (84-101) before crushing Lebanon, 108-76, on Tuesday. Canada will try to notch their first victory of the tournament when they play the Spaniards tomorrow. The Canadians were previously beaten by Lebanon (71-81), Lithuania (68-70) and France (63-68).
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