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2008 Olympic Games, Day 2: Tuesday, August 12, 2008
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Lithuania became the first team to two wins at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games by blasting Iran 67-99. Star guard Sarunas Jasikevicius of Panathinaikos scored 11 of his 20 points in a 0-18 charge to open the second period that allowed Lithuania to cruise the rest of the way. Linas Kleiza recorded 22 points and 8 rebounds and Rimas Kaukenas had 14 for the winners. Iran came out feisty, led by as many as 8 in the opening period and was up 20-15 after 10 minutes, but had no answer for Lithuania's second-period run. Center Hamed Ehadadi carried Iran with 21 points and 9 rebounds, while Oshin Sahakian added 7 points and 12 rebounds. Iran had plenty of confidence early as four different players scored in the first four minutes to give their team a 9-4 lead. A Mohammadsamad Nikkhah three-pointer made it 14-6 midway through the opening period. That served as a wakeup call for Lithuania, which responded with back-to-back threes from Ramunas Siskauskas and Kaukenas. Still Iran persisted and held a 20-15 lead after a Javad Davari free throw just before the end of the period. The second period saw a different Lithuanian attitude on the court and led by Jasikevicius, the squad reeled off 18 unanswered points to take the lead for good. Saras capped the run with a triple. Robertas Javtokas helped Lithuania keep a double-digit advantage with a pair of buckets as the teams headed into halftime with Lithuania ruling 34-46 at the break. Iran went outside and got triples from Nikkhah and Hamed Afagh Eslamieh to stay in the picture, but soon Lithuania put the game away with a 2-13 charge. Lithuiania's lead reached 20 on a Kaukenas basket. Marijonas Petravicius and Kleiza shined when they got the chance in the fourth quarter as the lead hit 30 points. The lead peaked at 58-96 on a Petravicius three-point play in transition as Lithuania coasted to a comfortable victory.
 Croatia handed European champion Russia its first loss at the Olympics 85-78 thanks to two players who will play for Russian clubs next season. Marko Popovic of Unics Kazan and Zoran Planinic of CSKA Moscow combined for 42 points as Croatia improved to 2-0 to join Lithuania atop the Group B standings. Popovic scored 22, including 9 of 10 free throws to lead an excellent team effort from the charity stripe: 25 for 29 (86.2%). Croatia also made 8 of 15 three-pointers. Planinic scored his 20 in just 19 minutes of action. Stanko Barac of Tau Ceramica added 12 points and 7 rebounds. Andrei Kirilenko paced Team Russia with 18 points, Sergey Bykov added 15, Viktor Khryapa 14 and Aleksey Savrasenko scored 10. Popovic scored the game's first two baskets as Croatia opened an early 6-0 lead, but Kirilenko kept Russia in the picture and a Nikita Morgunov triple at the first-period buzzer gave the European champs their first lead, 16-17. Bykov heated up early in the second period and Russia’s full-court defense frustrated Croatia and when Kirilenko fed Morgunov for a basket in the paint, Russia led 20-25. But Croatia remained patient and Planinic led his team back and to a 42-36 halftime lead. A pair of Barac gave Croatia the start to the second half it wanted as head coach Jasmin Repesa's squad took the first double-digit lead for either team all game. Kirilenko scored from the line after two-and-a-half minutes to finally put Russia on the board, however Popovic answered with a triple to make it 49-38. Niksa Prkacin put Croatia up by as many as 13 before a Kirilenko slam in the closing seconds of the period made it 60-51. A Planinic basket-plus-foul threatened to take the wind out of Russia's sails, but Kirilenko battled on with clutch baskets for his team. Still triples from Popovic and Roko Ukic plus a jumper from Davor Kus kept Croatia in control. Khryapa came to the Russian rescue with 5 straight points to make it 75-69 with four minutes remaining. Another Khryapa triple made it 79-74 with 96 seconds to go, but after a timeout, Planinic buried a three over his soon-to-be CSKA teammate J.R. Holden and Croatia managed the clock well and made its free throws in the final minute to wrap up the win.
 Relying on its trademark defense, Greece posted its first victory in Group B at the Olympic Games by shutting down Germany 87-64 on Tuesday. Both teams now have 1-1 records in the group. Despite leading after a quarter, Germany scored only 25 points in the middle two as Greece used double teams and ball-hawking to limit stars Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman to 4-for-11 shooting. Neither returned to the floor after collecting their fourth fouls in the the third quarter. Vasillis Spanoulis paced the winners with 23 points while making 5 of 7 two-point shots and 4 of 6 threes and dishing 5 assists. His Panathinaikos teammate Dimitris Diamantidis had 12 and Theodoros Papaloukas of Olympiacos 15. Nowitzki led Germany with 13 points, while Sven Schultze and Demond Greene had 11 each. Greece blasted off to a 7-0 start with surprise starter Andreas Glyniadakis and forward Antonis Fotsis scoring all the points. The Greek lead hit 12-2 before Demond Greene responded for Germany from the corner. Pascal Roller and Sven Schultze soon joined him with three-pointers to cut the difference to 19-13. Nowitski followed with back-to-back triples to tie before Schultze's baseline jumper left Germany ahead 21-23 to end the quarter. Greece responded by patiently unwinding Germany's zone defense to score the second quarter's first 10 points, 6 of them by Diamantidis. Greece kept rolling to a 35-24 lead as Diamantidis and Papaloukas riddled Germany's zone with crafty drives and passes. Greene again lifted Germany with back-to-back three-pointers, but Spanoulis answered from downtown as Greece restored a double-digit 44-33 edge at the half. Greece delivered the knockout blow in the third quarter, surging to 50-35 before answering a brief 0-5 run by Germany with a 16-5 blast. Papaloukas highlighted the run with a triple, while Glyniadakis had 4 points and drew Nowitzki's fourth foul. Greece was in full charge, 69-48, after three quarters and cruised the rest of the way while holding onto its sizable margin in case it's needed later in tie-break situations.
 World champion Spain remained unbeaten in Group B by rallying from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to edge China 75-85 in overtime in a fully-packed Wukesong Arena. Spain overcame a strong basketball atmosphere to beat China for the eighth time in nine official games and is set to face the United States in a highly anticipated game on Thursday. Meanwhile, China dropped to 0-2 and needs to start winning right away to reach the quarterfinals. Former all-Euroleague second team selection Pau Gasol paced the winners with 29 points on 13-for-16 two-pointers. ULEB Cup Final Eight MVP Rudy Fernandez added 21 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, while Felipe Reyes of Real Madrid scored 10 points for Spain, but it was Ricky Rubio of DKV Joventut that his team's comeback with outstanding defense in the fourth period. Liu Wei had 19 points for China while Wang Zhizhi and Fangyu Zhu each added 15 for the hosts. Spain tried to open the court in the early going with Pau Gasol in the high post, but an unstoppable Wei and a power dunk by Yao Ming gave China a 9-7 lead midway through the first quarter. Fernandez, however, followed a fallaway triple with a dunk off a steal to make China call timeout at 11-17. Fangyu Zhu and Wang Zhizhi brought China within 18-20 after 10 minutes. Spain did not improve with the Gasol brothers together on court while China kept its momentum going through an inspired Wei. Spain called timeout at 30-26 and switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense that Ming punished with a power layup and free throws. A three-pointer by Zhu capped a 7-0 run that gave China a 9-point lead. Reyes and Fernandez kept Spain within 46-37 at halftime. Spain kept struggling in defense after the break while Wei struck again from downtown to make it 52-37, after 22 minutes. Spain kept running its offense through Pau Gasol, but a technical foul on the Spanish bench and an outstanding Zhizhi allowed China to keep a 61-47 margin after three quarters. Reyes, Fernandez and Pau Gasol fueled a 0-10 run that brought their team back to life, 64-61. China kept struggling to score until Zhizhi and Wei stepped up to keep China ahead, 70-67, with less than three minutes to go. FC Barcelona star guard Juan Carlos Navarro tied the game with a corner triple, but Zhizhi hit a six-meter hot for a 72-70 Chinese lead with 1:08 remaining. Marc Gasol tied the game with an off-balanced jumper and Rubio collected a key steal with 6.5 seconds to go, however he missed a floating layup to send the game to overtime, 72-72. Pau Gasol followed a put-back layup with a three-point play on Ming's fifth foul, 74-79. His alleyoop dunk sealed the outcome down the stretch.
 The United States left no doubt about its power by downing perennial African champion Angola 76-97 in Group B at Wukesong Arena. The United States have faced Angola in four of the last five Olympic Games - and won all games by an average margin of 39.5 points. Dwyane Wade led the winners with 19 points. Dwight Howard added 14 while Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony each got 12 for the USA. Carlos Morais led all scorers with 24 points for Angola, which was without star forward Olimpio Cipriano. Leonel Paulo opened the game with a fast break dunk and Morais added a corner triple to give Angola a 5-2 edge. A jump hook by Eduardo Mingas gave the African champs their last lead, 9-8. Howard was unstoppable in the paint and a three-pointer by Wade gave the United States a 11-17 lead. Mingas kept pacing Angola, but Team USA was all over the place in defense. Tayshaun Prince followed a triple with a fast break dunk while free throws by Chris Bosh made it an 11-point game, 18-29, after 10 minutes. Carlos Almeida and Anthony traded triples early in the second quarter, but Howard kept pacing USA with easy baskets. Angola could not get its frontcourt involved and opted to take outside shots. Morais had 9 points in an 11-2 Angolan run that brought his team within 32-39. James stepped up with 7 points - including an incredible dunk - in a 0-12 run that broke the game open, 37-55, at halftime. Kobe Bryant took over after the break, as USA kept excelling in defense throughout the third quarter. Costa and Joaquim Gomes tried to change things for Angola, but Wade stepped up with an outstanding dunk and free throws. He got some help from Deron Williams to give their team a 53-81 margin after 30 minutes. The United States kept rolling in the fourth quarter despite sitting out some of its main players, as Chris Paul and Anthony gave their team a 61-91 margin. Angola kept trying, but the United States had already cruised to a convincing win.
Argentina registered its first win in Group A by downing Australia 85-68 in the final game of the day at Wukesong Arena. Argentina is now tied with Russia for third place in Group A, each with a 1-1 record. Meanwhile, Australia dropped to 0-2. Former Euroleague Final Four MVP Manu Ginobili led the winners with 21 points. Former All-Euroleague forward Luis Scola added 17, Carlos Delfino of Khimki had 14 and Fabricio Oberto netted 12 for Argentina. Patrick Mills had 22 points for Australia, Brad Newley of Panellinios added 11 and David Andersen of FC Barcelona had 10 for the Boomers. Argentina quickly found a go-to guy in Scola early in the game. He followed a reverse layup with a mid-range jumper and had 9 points in an 11-1 opening run that made the Boomers call their first timeout. Scola found some help from Oberto and Pablo Prigioni of Tau Ceramica to make it a 17-point game, 20-3, after seven minutes. Andersen tried to change things for Australia and Newley scored in transition to give the Boomers some hope, 23-11, after 10 minutes. Oberto and Delfino led a 6-0 opening run in the second quarter, good for a 29-11 Argentinian lead. Australia could not find the way to the basket until Glen Saville struck from downtown. Scola stayed unstoppable but Andersen and Andrew Bogut gave the Boomers some hope, 34-24. Ginobili and Scola stepped up for Argentina but Newley followed a seven-meter bomb with a final basket for a 39-29 Australian deficit at halftime. Scola scored twice around the basket while Nocioni struck from downtown to keep Argentina way ahead, 48-33, after the break. The Boomers opted to attack the basket and go to the foul line as often as possible. A driving layup by Ginobili ignited a 7-0 run that made it a 19-point game, 57-38, as Argentina tried Delfino as point guard now. A driving basket by Patrick Mills fixed the score at 63-46 after 30 minutes. Argentina slowed down the game tempo, looking for Oberto and Scola in the low post. Australia called timeout at 67-50 but did not recover, as Ginobili, Delfino and Prigioni struck from downtown to seal the outcome.
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