TEAM USA'S NEXT GAME
The U.S. Men’s National Team will play for gold on Sunday, and that became official with the final buzzer sounding on Thursday’s 96-68 over Lithuania in the World Cup semifinals in Barcelona.
Like they’ve done on multiple occasions throughout the World Cup, the U.S. squad once again allowed their opponent to hang around in the first half before completely dominating the third quarter. The team struggled early with turnovers, foul trouble and poor shooting in the opening minutes, but enter Klay Thompson.
The Warriors shooting guard made an immediate impact upon entering the game. He knocked down two 3-pointers in the opening period, each of which put Team USA in front. His second trey gave Team USA a lead it would never relinquish, and Thompson went on to score 14 of his 16 points in the first half.
While Thompson excelled, fellow Splash Brother Stephen Curry struggled with foul trouble for the second straight game. He picked up two fouls in the opening minutes and played sparingly until the fourth quarter. Still, Curry finished with 13 points and three rebounds, and he and Thompson combined to make five of the team’s nine 3-pointers. And Thompson, in addition to his 16 points, added three rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
The U.S. squad rode the momentum of Thompson’s spark and opened the third quarter on an 18-2 run. The rout was on from there, and the only question left revolved around who Team USA would play in Sunday’s final. That will be determined by Friday’s semifinal matchup between France and Serbia. France beat tournament host Spain to advance to the semifinal, and Serbia is coming off a blowout win against Brazil in the quarterfinals.
Whether it’s France or Serbia, Sunday’s World Cup finale will tip off at 12 p.m. (PDT) on ESPN. For full coverage of the Splash Brothers at the World Cup, click here.
