The United States knew Turkey would be a challenge heading into the second game of the FIBA World Cup, and that’s exactly what they got from the Turkish National Team as they survived an overtime thriller 93-92 on Tuesday morning.
Team USA came out of the gates stiff and lethargic and couldn’t get anything to fall inside of the arc. Fortunately, second-chance points and some unusually hot three-point shooting kept the Americans in the lead despite a 15 point first half from Ersan Ilyasova.
The U.S. built a 15 point cushion in the second quarter behind a combined 19 points from Myles Turner and Khris Middleton but struggled to finish strong.