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Germany faces exit, Lithuania dazzles
Source: Agencies |
September 9, 2011, Friday
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THE Gasol brothers got the better of Dirk Nowitzki, leaving Germany on the brink of elimination at the European basketball championship in Lithuania.
Pau and Marc Gasol combined for 43 points on Wednesday to lead defending champion Spain past Germany 77-68 in the second-round group stage of the tournament.
Led by 20 points from Tony Parker, France also moved closer to the quarterfinals by beating Turkey 68-64, while host Lithuania powered past Serbia 100-90 with a strong shooting performance.
Germany couldn't find an answer for Spain's double threat down low, with Marc Gasol scoring a game-high 24 points and older brother Pau adding all of his 19 in the second half. Spain led most of the way but needed a late 9-3 run to secure the victory.
"At the beginning we didn't play very smart, shooting too much from outside and not finding our rhythm. We got ahead a couple of times, but we weren't able to pull away," said Pau Gasol, the Los Angeles Lakers center who is playing with a sore ankle.
Nowitzki, who led the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA championship last season, had 19 points for Germany. Chris Kaman of the Los Angeles Clippers had 15 points and 12 rebounds, but both shot under 50 percent from the field.
Rebounds
"We could not get the important baskets and rebounds at the end, and we turned the ball over too much," Germany forward Johannes Herber said.
The loss leaves Germany in danger of missing the quarterfinals. Since head-to-head results from the first group stage carry over into this round, Germany is now 0-3, while Spain is 2-1 in their Group E.
Four teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals. France is 3-0, Lithuania is 2-1 while Turkey and Serbia are both 1-2.
Lithuania fed off the energy of its home crowd and used its trademark quick passing game to set up good shots, finishing with a total of 25 assists to Serbia's 11.
"We played with emotion, our assists and shooting won the game," said center Jonas Valanciunas, who had 18 points.
Lithuania shot 60 percent from the field, making 11 of 20 3-point attempts. Point guard Mantas Kalnietis finished with 19 points.
Pau and Marc Gasol combined for 43 points on Wednesday to lead defending champion Spain past Germany 77-68 in the second-round group stage of the tournament.
Led by 20 points from Tony Parker, France also moved closer to the quarterfinals by beating Turkey 68-64, while host Lithuania powered past Serbia 100-90 with a strong shooting performance.
Germany couldn't find an answer for Spain's double threat down low, with Marc Gasol scoring a game-high 24 points and older brother Pau adding all of his 19 in the second half. Spain led most of the way but needed a late 9-3 run to secure the victory.
"At the beginning we didn't play very smart, shooting too much from outside and not finding our rhythm. We got ahead a couple of times, but we weren't able to pull away," said Pau Gasol, the Los Angeles Lakers center who is playing with a sore ankle.
Nowitzki, who led the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA championship last season, had 19 points for Germany. Chris Kaman of the Los Angeles Clippers had 15 points and 12 rebounds, but both shot under 50 percent from the field.
Rebounds
"We could not get the important baskets and rebounds at the end, and we turned the ball over too much," Germany forward Johannes Herber said.
The loss leaves Germany in danger of missing the quarterfinals. Since head-to-head results from the first group stage carry over into this round, Germany is now 0-3, while Spain is 2-1 in their Group E.
Four teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals. France is 3-0, Lithuania is 2-1 while Turkey and Serbia are both 1-2.
Lithuania fed off the energy of its home crowd and used its trademark quick passing game to set up good shots, finishing with a total of 25 assists to Serbia's 11.
"We played with emotion, our assists and shooting won the game," said center Jonas Valanciunas, who had 18 points.
Lithuania shot 60 percent from the field, making 11 of 20 3-point attempts. Point guard Mantas Kalnietis finished with 19 points.
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