Team USA dominates second half, beats Lithuania 96-68 to advance to the FIBA World Cup Finals

Team USA got off to a very slow start against Lithuania but it didn't matter. They pushed an 8 point halftime lead to 24 very quickly thanks to an 18-2 run to start the third quarter.  Kyrie Irving led the way for the United States with 18 points while Klay Thompson and James Harden chipped in 16 points each. \

Lithuania did a good job of drawing fouls and getting to the line, shooting 42 attempts to just 20 attempts for USA.  Toronto Raptors big man Jonas Valanciunas shot just 2-5 from the field but still finished with 15 points thanks to 13 free throw attempts.

DeMarcus Cousins had an alright game with 7 points and 6 rebounds, but he also fouled out for the second straight game.  He'll also likely be making headlines due to his scuffle with Jonas Valanciunas in the 3rd quarter.  Valanciunas went a little too high with an elbow when trying to box out at the free throw line and caught Cousins in the throat.

Cousins was not pleased.

Cousins' reaction earned him a technical and Valanciunas' reaction earned him at least a dozen laughs in the past half hour from me.  Two for flinching!

Rudy Gay scored just 3 points but did grab a team-high 7 rebounds and a steal. There was a bit of a scare as he took a hard fall in the 4th quarter after getting whacked in the face when going up for a shot.  Fortunately there was no serious injury aside from perhaps a loose tooth or two.

Serbia and France play tomorrow to determine who plays USA in Madrid for the Final on September 14th.  France is coming off a huge upset victory over home favorites Spain, but even still USA remains the presumptive favorites to win it all.