Kyrie Irving had his best scoring performance of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup on Thursday, leading the USA with 18 points in their 96-68 Semi-Final win over Lithuania.
“Well, I don’t know. Maybe it was nerves. Maybe we were making too many mistakes. Maybe we weren’t playing well,” the Cleveland Cavaliers point guard said of the USA’s sluggish start as Lithuania stayed within striking distance, trailing only 21-16 at the end of the first quarter.
“They kept coming at us. That run (in the third quarter) helped. I think it was a great team effort,” he said.
The run in questions was a 10-0 spurt that ignited the reigning world champions as they turned their 45-35 half-time lead into a commanding 76-49 advantage heading into the final quarter.
The USA now stand a game away from successfully defending their title as world champions, a feat that has only ever been accomplished twice in the history of FIBA’s flagship event.
“We have one more game to go. I hope we can do the same on Sunday as well. We are improving with every game. I really think that will be good enough in the Final,” he said.
Lithuania’s Martynas Pocius praised the USA for their ability to raise the bar when needed.
“They make you play their style of game. That’s the beauty of that team,” said the guard who played under USA coach Mike Krzyzewski in Duke University from 2005-09.
Despite the loss, Pocius is proud of what Lithuania has accomplished and of what they can still achieve.
“I think we did very well coming to the Semi-Finals, but our most important game will be on Saturday,” he said in reference to Saturday’s Third-Place Game.
Lithuania came in third in Turkey four years ago.
“Both are great teams (Serbia and France, who will play the second Semi-Final on Friday). But right now, we are not thinking about that,” said Pocius.
