BEIJING // Vasileios Spanoulis and a dogged Greek defence curbed Dirk Nowitzki in a 87-64 win over Germany in Group B, setting the stage for a much-anticipated clash with the United States. Spanoulis led the scoring for the Greeks with 23 points, while Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks was held to just 13. "We played good defence and offence. Everyone contributed," the Greek captain Theodoros Papaloukas said. The US team, Papaloukas added, "is different". "They are much more difficult because they are more athletic. You are always concentrated and focused when you play them," he said.
Greece, runners-up to Spain at the 2006 World Championships, stretched a two point margin at the end of the first quarter into a commanding 44-33 lead at the halfway stage. The Greeks held Germany to just 11 points in the third quarter, then lengthened their lead to 27 points in the final period before Konrad Wysocki drilled a three-pointer with 20 seconds left. The Greeks nailed 57 per cent of their field goals, against just 36 per cent for Germany, while Spanoulis was nine for 13 from the floor and four for six from behind the arc.
The Greek defence double-teamed Nowitzki and commanded the lane, while their offence repeatedly caught Germany sleeping. Germany's shots just would not drop for them, while they appeared sluggish on the fast break. "Both our offence and defence were in problems during the game," Germany's Jan-Hendrik Jagla said. Papaloukas contributed another 15 points for Greece, while Demond Greene and Sven Schultze added 11 each for Germany. The Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Kaman, a commanding presence in Sunday's win over Angola, never really got going, scoring just four points. Both teams now have one win and one loss in the tournament.
"If you play against Greece you have to play as great at defence as they do, and we didn't do that," said the German coach Dirk Bauermann. "I'm disappointed with our effort." The Thursday matchup against the US is a replay of the 2006 World Championship semifinals in Japan, in which Greece prevailed 101-95 on their way to a runners-up spot. Overcoming that psychological barrier will be key as the Americans seek to win their first major title since the 2000 Sydney Games.
In Group A action, Linas Kleiza scored 22 points to lead unbeaten Lithuania to a 99-67 victory over Asian champions Iran. Sarunas Jasikevicius added 20 points while Hamed Ehadadi notched 21 points for Iran, which is now winless after two games. World 20th-ranked Croatia, meanwhile, added to its remarkable Olympic showing by defeating the European champions Russia 85-78. Marko Popovic led scoring for Croatia with 22 points, while the captain Andrey Kirilenko topped the Russian points with 18. Russia now have one win and one loss, while Croatia, who won silver at the 1992 Olympics but hasn't appeared in a major international competition since 1996, remain undefeated.
*AP