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Zhizhao Wu / Getty Images
Despite a gap of nearly 25 points in the first quarter, Serbia on Thursday beat the US team 94-89 in a FIBA World Cup standings match at the Dongguan Basketball Center in China .
Serbia led 32-7 after the first quarter, and while the Americans reduced the deficit to four before half-time, they could never take advantage.
After losing to France in the quarter-finals on Wednesday, Team USA has now lost consecutive games in international competition with NBA players for the first time since 2002.
Bogdan Bogdanovic, the Sacramento Kings 'wing, opened the way for Serbia with 28 points, the highest game in the world, while Denver Nuggets' center, Nikola Jokic, added nine points, seven assists and three rebounds.
Four players scored two figures for the United States, including Boston Celtics guard Kemba Walker, who rebounded after a miserable performance in the loss to France on Wednesday with 18 points, eight assists and four rebounds. Kings 'Harrison Barnes was the Americans' top scorer with 22 points.
Thursday's win means Serbia will play for fifth place in the FIBA World Cup, while the US team will be relegated to seventh place.
Initially, it seemed that the defeat against France had undermined the Americans' desire to play. Serbia fired behind Bogdanovic's long-term prowess:
Basketball World Cup @FIBAWC
4/4 3 PTS in 4 MIN! @LeaderOfHorde #SrbijaGotGame #SRBUSA #FIBAWC
? https://t.co/U6RPjwM4Dr
✍ https://t.co/cCvWa1x1FE https://t.co/N41aWUFxpl
The United States had no answers at both ends of the debate and its seven points marked the the least he never scored in a single quarter at the FIBA World Cup.
What made Serbia's dominance in the first quarter even more impressive was that its best player, Jokic, chose to postpone rather than shoot down shots, according to Marc Stein of New York Times:
Marc Stein @TheSteinLine
@FIBAWC The Serbs have drained eight 3 and (no typo) lead 32-7 after a quarter – Nikola Jokic refusing to take a shot in his first job of 6:55
It would have been easy for the United States to put it away, but the players have instead endured the head coach. Gregg Popovich.
The result was a second quarter 33-12, which brought the score to 44-40 in favor of Serbia at half-time:
Basketball World Cup @FIBAWC
@LeaderOfHorde Q1: 32 – 7
Q2: 44 – 40The return of @ usabasketball is ON!
#SRBUSA #FIBAWC https://t.co/iijrQwJlV1
The United States team continued to nibble in the third quarter, beating Serbia 28-27 to enter the fourth quarter with a deficit of three points.
Khris Middleton, a small Milwaukee Bucks forward, who finished with 16 points and six rebounds, showed his talent to two in a very good quarter for the Americans:
Basketball World Cup @FIBAWC
@LeaderOfHorde @usabasketball. @ Khris22m steals it and hits it on the other end of the thread
End of third quarter: 71 – 68
#SRBUSA #USAGotGame #FIBAWC @usabasketball https://t.co/ZdcHxyKVKp
While the United States nearly equalized the score or took the lead several times, they never managed to overcome the bump.
Serbia stood firm and put the Americans apart in the fourth quarter. The Serbs fired 52% of the field and 48% of the deepest for the match, while the US team shot 44% of the ground and only 35% of the back.
Jonathan Givony of ESPN said that this defeat guaranteed Team USA its worst ever result at the World Cup:
Jonathan Givony @DraftExpress
The consecutive defeats of France and Serbia mean that American basketball recorded its worst result in history in the history of the World Cup / FIBA World Championships (no better than the 7th). Hope this serves as an alarm clock for the whole world (no one wants to hear the excuses from your list)
After winning each of the last two FIBA world cups, Americans can not finish better than sevenths. On Saturday, they will face the loser of Poland against the Czech Republic to determine seventh place.
Serbia will face the winner of this competition on Saturday in the match for fifth place.
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