Team USA won’t remain perfect at the 2023 FIBA World Cup after all. Following four straight wins to start the tournament, the Americans suffered a surprising 104-110 loss to Lithuania in the second round of the group stage.
Lithuania dominated at the start of the game, scoring 31 points compared to Team USA’s 12 in the first quarter. Team USA bounced back in the next two quarters, cutting Lithuania’s lead to just six before the final period. However, Steve Kerr’s team didn’t manage to complete the comeback, and the Lithuanians ended up celebrating arguably the biggest upset so far in the tournament.
Lithuania was led by Vaidas Kariniauskas, who had 15 points and four rebounds, Tadas Sedekerskis, who scored 11 points and added 11 rebounds, and New Orleans Pelicans’ Jonas Valanciunas, who added 12 points. Team USA, on the other hand, saw Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards score 35 points while Jalen Brunson and Mikail Bridges had 14 points each.
“I hate losing, I probably won’t sleep much tonight,” Kerr said after the game. “But for us to get better, we needed to feel this. We needed to lose the way we did.”
The loss against Lithuania didn’t affect Team USA’s quarterfinals spot, considering that they secured it earlier. However, it did cause them to face a different opponent in the next round. 0
Had the Team USA beat Lithuania, they would go up against Serbia. Instead, they slipped to the second place in the group and are now set to face Italy. The winner of Team USA vs. Italy will play the winner of Germany vs. Latvia in the semi-finals.
