By Shashank Bengali, McClatchy Newspapers –
LONDON — After a record-shattering 83-point annihilation of Nigeria on Thursday, the U.S. men’s basketball team expected a tougher test Saturday against an experienced Lithuanian squad.
They certainly got it.
(PHOTO: USA’s Russell Westbrook (7) flies to the basket past Lithuania’s Renaldas Seibutis (8) during their game at the Olympic Park Basketball Arena during the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, England, Saturday, August 4, 2012. USA defeated Lithuania 99-94.)
The country that handed the U.S. a stunning defeat at the 2004 Athens Olympics nearly shocked the heavily favored Americans again, leading midway through the fourth period before the Americans pulled away for a hard-fought 99-94 victory in group play at the London games.
By turning back the upset bid, the U.S. improved to 4-0 ahead of its last preliminary matchup Monday against Argentina. That figures to be another challenging contest for the LeBron James-led squad of All-Stars before the elimination round begins Wednesday.
James and Carmelo Anthony each had 20 points to lead Team USA, but they were eclipsed by Lithuania’s Linus Kleiza, of the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, who had 25 points on efficient, 10-for-20 shooting. Lithuania also outrebounded the U.S., 42 to 37, and troubled American defenders with a pick-and-roll offense that resulted in a lot of easy buckets.
“It’s definitely the toughest game we’ve had since we’ve been here,” said U.S. guard Chris Paul, who was limited to seven points but had six assists and seven rebounds — including a key board late in the fourth quarter with the U.S. clinging to an 85-84 lead.
There was little chance that the U.S. could match its performance against Nigeria last week, which included an Olympic-record 156 total points and Anthony’s U.S.-record 37 points in less than 15 minutes on the floor. But early on, Lithuania — with a roster that includes Martynas Pocius, who played for U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke, and Jonas Valanciunas, a top-five draft pick by the Raptors in 2011 — looked like the more aggressive team.
They contested virtually every shot and crashed the defensive glass, picking up 16 defensive rebounds in the first half compared with 14 for the U.S. For the game, Lithuania shot a remarkable 58 percent.
Unlike the Nigeria game, the biggest U.S. stars had to play big minutes. James and Kobe Bryant, who had just six points on 1-of-7 shooting, each were on the floor for much of the fourth quarter as the lead changed hands.
Late in the fourth, down by one, Lithuania looked like it could retake the lead when shooting guard Sarunas Jasikevicius — leader of the 2004 team in Athens — brought the ball up the floor. But Jasikevicius threw it away and Deron Williams scored on a fast break to give the U.S. an 87-84 lead with 4:29 left.
James then took over, hitting a three-pointer and, after a steal by Paul, scored on a fast break to give the U.S. a 92-86 lead as chants of “U-S-A!” filled the raucous arena. Another fast-break dunk by James sealed the game, putting the U.S. up 97-88 with 2:08 left.
Lithuania, an eastern European mecca for basketball, has had a disappointing Olympics, dropping to 1-3 in group play. But against the U.S. the team showed flashes of the squad that has won three Olympic bronze medals. Pocius had 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists in leading the tall, tenacious Lithuanian squad down the stretch.
“They executed extremely well, they moved the ball very well and shot the ball very well,” Bryant said. “They executed their plans to perfection.”
No doubt Team USA will revisit its own offensive game plan before taking the court against Argentina, which is led by the San Antonio Spurs’ Manu Ginobili and three other NBA players. After a historic night of perimeter shooting against Nigeria — hitting 29 of 46 three-pointers — the U.S. was far less effective on Saturday, sinking just 10 of 33 from long range and going long stretches without getting the ball into the paint.
Afterward, James played down concerns about Team USA, which opened Olympic play with three blowout wins but has now begun the serious part of its gold-medal defense.
“I don’t think we were flat. I just think we were playing a well-coached team, a team that’s been in the Olympics time after time,” James said.
“You want to be tested. You want the competition. You want to feel like you’ve been tested, and we had that today.”
The U.S. didn’t help its cause by shooting just 19 for 31 from the free-throw line. Kevin Love was just three for eight from the line and took to Twitter afterward to apologize, saying, “Shaq on the free throw line today. My bad USA!!”
Lithuania’s notoriously rowdy fans were their usual selves, chanting and whistling virtually every time the Americans had the ball. But they were overall better behaved than last Tuesday, when a Lithuanian fan was cited for directing Nazi gestures and monkey chants toward Nigerian players. The fan pleaded guilty in a London court to “racially aggravated behavior” and was ordered to pay a fine of $3,910.
