USA Cruise Past Turkey to End 16-Year Wait for World Championship Trophy

ISTANBUL (2010 FIBA World Championship) – The United States of America beat Turkey 81-64 to win the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

The result ended a 16-year wait for the USA, who had not won this tournament since 1994.

In the first official game ever between the two teams, Mike Kryzewski’s team gradually pulled away as Turkey looked to be suffering the after effects of their hard-fought win over Lithuania in Saturday’s semi-final.

Down 17-14, the Americans reeled off 11 unanswered points in a stretch spanning the late part of the first quarter and early second for a 25-17 advantage and they stayed in front the rest of the way.

Kevin Durant (who visited with FIBATV.com after the victory) gave his team their first double-digit lead, 31-21, midway through the second period. The Turks fought bravely but never got close enough to prove a real threat.

The teams went back and forth and Durant knocked down his second three-pointer of the night to put the USA up 12-7.

Hedo Turkoglu answered by hitting consecutive long bombs that edged Turkey in front 15-14 with 4:07 left in the first quarter.

However, he then picked up a knock and had to leave the game, going to the locker room before returning minutes later with a thick sleeve on the knee.

Omer Asik’s lay-up stretched the Turks’ lead to 17-14 with 3:28 remaining in the period, but the Americans then accounted for the last eight points of the period to lead 22-17.

Durant tied it at 17 all with a deep three-pointer, Stephen Curry, fresh off the bench, also connected from downtown and Russell Westbrook made a pair of free-throws in the dying seconds.

Turkey’s offense stalled and they were forced into two shot clock violations by their opponents’stifling defense.

Westbrook converted a three-point play early in the second quarter to cap the 11-0 spurt.

Ersan Ilyasova and Rudy Gay traded baskets before the USA yet again used some tough defense to force Turkey into another shot clock violation.

Turkoglu re-entered the game with 7:46 left in the half and Kerem Tunceri made a pair of free-throws that cut the deficit to 27-21.

Durant then hit his sixth and seventh three-pointers – the latter one tying Puerto Rico’s Larry Ayuso for most in a game at the FIBA World Championship – consecutively for a 48-32 advantage just two minutes into the third quarter to account for more than half of his team’s points (26 of 48).

Semih Erden scored inside on two occasions, only for Durant and Billups to cancel those points out for 38-28.

Oğuz Savaş made three of four free-throws before Gay scored with a minute remaining before the break.

Ilyasova split a pair from the charity stripe and Westbrook made good on both his tries in the dying seconds for a 42-32 halftime lead.

Turkey had their fourth shot clock violation right after the break.

Durant then hit his sixth and seventh three-pointers consecutively for a 48-32 advantage just two minutes into the third quarter to account for more than half of his team’s points (26 of 48).

Turkoglu could only watch from the bench as his knee injury forced him back on the sidelines.

Ender Arslan drained a three-pointer for Turkey’s first points of the period with 6:36 to go.

Andre Iguodala then skied high for an offensive rebound and fed Odom for an easy two.

Omer Onan hit three of four throws and Arslan knocked another long bomb for six straight points that got the home side within 52-41.

Gay’s jumper ended the run, Westbrook then buried a rare three-pointer, Durant knocked a turnaround jumper and Lamar Odom got an easy dunk as the American pushed the advantage to 61-48 heading into the final frame.

Derrick Rose showed off his speed to score four quick points in the open court at the start of the fourth and Odom later scored inside for the USA’s first 20-point lead, 70-50.

He later had a tip-in off as Rose missed a free-throw for a three-point play.

Tunceri knocked down a three-pointer and fed Gonlum underneath for an easy two that got Turkey within 74-57 but at the other end he failed to close in on Odom who made him pay with a jumper for his eighth and ninth points of the period.

Westbrook and Turkoglu traded three-pointers for 79-62 and the former then threw an alley-oop to Iguodala to add some stylish finishing touches.

Durant finished with a game-high 28 points.