USA Defense Does In Germany
8/30/2006 2:39:26 PM | Men's Basketball
by USA Basketball
SAITAMA, Japan -- Overcoming a chilly shooting night with relentless defensive pressure and domination of the offensive boards, the U.S. (7-0) outscored Germany (5-2) 27-13 in the third quarter to break open a tight game and roll to an 85-65 victory in the quarterfinals of the World Championship. The win was the USA's seventh consecutive.
"We didn't shoot the ball well. We also missed a lot of shots right by the basket. We got a little a head of ourselves. Defensively, we forced 24 turnovers and we outrebounded them. The things that win ball games for you, our guys did," stated USA head mentor Mike Krzyzewski.
Former SU star Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) overcame a poor shooting night (7-19 FGs overall, 2-12 FGs in the first half) to account for a game-high 19 points, while LeBron James(Cleveland Cavaliers) added 13 points, five rebounds and four assists, Joe Johnson (Atlanta Hawks) finished with 11 points and Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors) was credited with 10 points while equaling a team high with seven rebounds.
"We're going to have nights like that when shots don't fall. Our shots didn't fall tonight. But, we did it on the defensive end," said Anthony.
The win advanced the U.S. into the semifinals medal round of the World Championship. The USA will meet 7-0 Greece Friday in the 4:30 p.m. (Japan time/3:30 a.m. EDT) game. Greece moved into the medal round semifinals after knocking out France 73-56 Wednesday night. Argentina (7-0) and Spain (7-0) will clash in Friday's second semifinal game. The winners of Friday semifinal games will play in Sunday's gold medal game.
"I think the German national team did a great job of packing in the zone early and we missed some early shots. We came out in the second half with the defensive mind-set that we needed to get some stops and get out and run. We were able to take control of the game in the third quarter," James remarked.
With 7:53 left in the third quarter and the U.S. holding a one point lead, the USA used a 16-2 run to break the contest open and earn the win.
Leading 44-43, Anthony got the USA going. Hitting a 3-pointer, on the next possession Anthony made a clean steal that resulted in a slam, and following a basket fromElton Brand(Los Angeles Clippers), Anthony canned another 3-pointer. Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat) made one of two free throws, Johnson scored another basket and Bosh completed the run with an old fashioned three-point play to up the USA lead to 60-45 with 1:53 to play in the third quarter.
Dallas Mavericks All-Star Dirk Nowitzki, who was limited to just 15 points for the evening, single-handedly tried to get Germany back in the game. Nowitzki scored his team's next seven points to help Germany close the gap to 62-52, but James hit a jumper and the U.S. closed out the quarter withChris Paul(New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets) connecting from beyond the 3-point arc at the buzzer to make it 67-52 heading into the fourth quarter.
Germany got to within 11, 72-61, with 5:49 remaining in the game, but Johnson dropped a 3-ball, Anthony added a basket and Brand made two free throws to end the threat and the USA went on to post the 85-65 win.
The U.S. shot just 37.6 percent from the field, including a dismal 10-40 from 3-point. Outrebounding Germany 48-34, including 22-6 on the offensive glass, the Americans forced Germany into 24 turnovers and limited them to 38.9 percent from the field, 3-of-13 from 3-point.
The USA managed to keep high scoring Nowitzki in check. Entering the game averaging 24.5 points a game for Germany, Nowitzki scored 15 points, but was harassed into 3-for-12 shooting from the field.
"He (Dirk Nowitzki) is a great player. He commands so much attention. We put a lot of different guys on him. Shane (Battier), Chris Bosh did a really good job... LeBron, Carmelo. He's the center of attention for everything we were doing defensively," said Krzyzewski.
It was a sluggish first two quarters. The U.S. fell behind 11-6, tied the contest 16-16 and trailed 21-16 with 2:09 left in the opening stanza. The USA got four points from Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic) and scored the quarter's last seven points to take a 23-21 advantage after the first period.
The two teams unsuccessfully tussled for control in the second quarter. The U.S. led by four, 37-33, following a 3-pointer from Johnson, but Germany countered with six straight points and only after Anthony made his first 3-pointer with 46 seconds to play, the USA held a narrow 40-39 lead at the half.
The USA managed to hit just 31.8 percent of its shots in the first 20 minutes, and was just 5-of-20 from 3-point.
Germany didn't manage much better. Making 41.4 percent of its shots, and shooting just 2-for-7 from 3-point, The Germans were a perfect 13-for 13 from the foul line but were forced into 11 turnovers.
Next up for the U.S. is Greece, winners of last year's European Championship.
"The Greece team is very good. They've been together for a long time. We have to have the defensive mind-set that we had in the second half today and try to do it for 40 minutes on Friday. It's going to be a tough game, so we have to come out with our ‘A-plus' game," said James of the USA's semifinal opponent.
Tuesday's quarterfinals results saw Argentina (7-0) stay perfect with an 83-58 win over Turkey (5-2), while Spain (7-0) also stayed undefeated with an 89-67 rout of Lithuania (4-3). In the consolation round semifinals, Turkey and Lithuania will play in Thursday's first consolation semifinal and France - Germany will meet in the other.
