Lithuania 89, Nigeria 80 | Box Score
It wasn’t the dominant buzzer-to-buzzer performance many were expecting and Jonas Valanciunas had a second consecutive quiet game, but Lithuania finds itself sitting comfortably at 2-0 after topping Nigeria 89-80 in group play Tuesday.
Things didn’t start as planned for the Lithuanians, who entered as 17.5-point favorites. With seven turnovers at the offensive end and some shaky defense around their own rim, they found themselves unable to take command early. When former Raptor Ben Uzoh produced a steal that resulted in a transition bucket late in the first, Nigeria held an unlikely three-point lead, one they’d keep into the second quarter thanks to an Ekene Ibekwe dunk at the end of the frame. It was an inauspicious start for Valanciunas, too, who coughed the ball up three times in response to intense pressure in the post – Nigerian head coach Will Voigt was instructing his players to “be a centerfielder in the paint” when Valanciunas was in the game, and the team responded by doubling and getting under his hands aggressively when their ball-denials didn’t succeed.
Not surprisingly, Lithuania didn’t exactly get cooking with Valanciunas on the bench, either. Domantas Sabonis, who had a strong night overall, opened the second by knocking down a jumper but Mindaugus Kuzminskas picked up an offensive foul and then needed a friendly roll to take the lead back. Naturally, Ibekwe responded with a three and a huge block back the other way, with Nigeria sending the clear message that Lithuania wasn’t just going to cruise back into control by sheet force of regression just yet. A Michael Umeh drive to the rim following some traded triples was about all Lithuanian head coach Jonas Kazlauskas could take without his starting center, and the new-look Raptors center made his way back in, his team down two.
He didn’t make an enormous splash on offense beyond having some distracting pull on the defense, but he came through with a great block on Chamberlain Oguchi when switched onto the guard (though Nigeria scored on the ensuing inbound play).
Nigeria wouldn’t go away, especially from long-range, where they shot 6-of-13 in the first half. After Valanciunas couldn’t hit a fading hook, Ike Digou hit his second three to give him a game-high 11 points in the half (he’d finish with 19), and even a quick Valanciunas response only helped keep the deficit at 41-36 entering halftime.
Lithuania came out looking hungrier – and likely, a bit worried – in the second half, starting a little faster and with Sabonis in place of Paulius Jankunas at the four. Valanciunas received a quick hook, too, thanks to picking up an early third foul (for the second consecutive game), and he’d sit for the remainder of the quarter. Even without their anchor, Lithuania began to assert themselves, opening on a 5-0 run to tie and later going on a 12-0 run to build a lead that swelled all thew way to 11 by the end of the frame. That 29-13 third quarter was closer to what was expected coming in, and Lithuania was in the driver’s seat, trying to fend off a Nigerian squad that just kept fighting.
With Valanciunas back in the game, the highly anticipated Uzoh-Valanciunas “Raptors past vs. Raptors future” battle continued. After an Uzoh bucket (he finished with eight points), Valanciunas was fouled in the post on back-to-back touches (the first saw him stick a tough finish despite the wrap, with the officials deeming the foul was before the shot). Another trip, another foul on Valanciunas, this one fouling Ibekwe out of the game, a not insignificant development for any Nigeria comeback hope. He also helped out on the defensive end…
…Not that it was all rainbows for him there.
Valanciunas finished the game having played 23:43 due to the foul trouble (he picked up a fourth but stayed in the game for most of the fourth), scoring 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting with five rebounds and three blocks. All told, the foul issues through two games are disappointing and the statistical production modest relative to his more recent international tournaments, but there’s been nothing terribly discouraging. He should be better as the tournament moves along and the intensity picks up.
To their credit, Nigeria didn’t fold up shop at all, continuing to scrap to keep the Lithuanian lead to single digits (and even cutting it back to five late in the fourth). Lithuania is just a more talented team, and the rebounding edge (plus-9), distributing mastery of Mantas Kalnietis (21 points and 12 assists, though I still miss Sarunas Jasikevicius), and the scoring of Jonas Maciulis (21 points) proving too much.
Lithuania next draws Argentina on Thursday, when Valanciunas will have a chance to go toe-to-toe with former teammate and international basketball legend Luis Scola. Lithuania, by the way, opened the tournament with odds that pegged them tied for the fifth-best chance at gold. Beating Brazil, with whom they held equal odds, pushed Lithuania’s line from +2800 to +2500 (the win over Nigeria shouldn’t result in a shift, unless the threat of an upset cools the market some). (You can get the latest updates on the game and tournament odds here.)
Thursday should be a good lens through which to evaluate Valanciunas. That game is going to be all kinds of fun.
