Tony Parker leads France to comfortable victory over Lithuania – London Olympics Men Basketball Recap
The French national team secured their second victory at the London Olympics by defeating Lithuania in a closely contested game on Thursday.
The game was divided into two parts, with Lithuania dominating the 2nd quarter and France coming back strongly in the third period to take the game out of the hands of Lithuania. They were able to eventually take an
84-72 victory.
Tony Parker shined once again for France, scoring a game high 27 points and adding 5 rebounds. The Spurs point guard was 9 of 14 from the floor and 7 of 10 from the foul line.
Parker was backed up by Nicolas Batum, who finished with 21 points and 6 rebounds and went 8 of 11 from the field for an all around performance on the night. Linas Kleiza led the Lithuanian side with 17 points and 7 rebounds.
The French started well and took an early 15-6 lead when Batum scored a three point play. Lithuania reduced the lead to 4 points with a three pointer by Martynas Pocius. However, a three pointer by Mickael Gelabale followed by
two free throws by Tony Parker gave the French side a 20-11 advantage.
The Lithuanians remained within striking distance though, and four straight points by Kleiza initiated a 6-0 run that allowed them to reduce the deficit to 3. France finished the period leading 25-21.
Lithuania stepped up on the offense in the second quarter, outscoring the French side 22-14. They took the lead with a two point shot by Mantas Kalnietis with a little over two minutes left in the half. That was followed by two
free throws by Kleiza and the Lithuanian side went into the half time break leading 43-39.
The third period, however, belonged solely to France. The French unit scored 20 points in the quarter and held Lithuania to only 9. They quickly regained the lead in the opening minutes of the period with a free throw by Ronny
Turiaf but Lithuania stayed closed and tied the game at 49 after a free throw by Kleiza.
France then went on a 10-3 run to close the period which allowed them to open up a 59-52 advantage going into the final quarter. They further secured their position in the game when they opened the final period with an 11-2 run,
capped off by 5 straight points from Nando De Colo.
Lithuania never managed a way back into the game after that and the closest they got to France was 74-80 after a three point play by Kleiza. France held on for the 82-74 victory.
Boris Diaw added 10 points, 6 rebound and 8 assists for the French side. Pocius finished with 15 points for the night, while Simas Jasaitis added 11 points for Lithuania.
France shot exceptionally well from the field, going 53.4% for the night and were 6 of 12 from the three point line. Lithuania were 6 of 21 from the same distance but went 12 of 15 from the foul line.
France also had a 38-29 advantage over Lithuania in rebounds, and committed 10 fewer fouls at 16 but failed to capitalize by shooting 14 of 24 from the foul line. The victory puts France in second position in Group A while Lithuania
fall to 4th position.
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