FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019: Scores and highlights from USA vs. Serbia and Czech Republic vs. Poland

Scott Rafferty

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FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019: Scores and highlights from USA vs. Serbia and Czech Republic vs. Poland image

Following a wild quarter-finals, there were only two FIBA Basketball World Cup games on Thursday to determine which teams would be fighting for places 5-8 this weekend.

First up was Serbia vs. USA, followed by Czech Republic vs. Poland. Both games featured a number of NBA players, from Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell for Team USA to Chicago Bulls guard Tomas Satoransky for the Czech Republic.

If you missed any of the action, check below for scores, stats and highlights from Thursday's games.

Serbia 94, USA 89

With a loss to Serbia, the best Team USA can finish this World Cup is now seventh place. According to NBA.com's John Schuhmann, it's the second-worst finish at a tournament ever in USA Basketball history.

USA got off to a slow start against Serbia, falling behind 32-7 in the first quarter. They got themselves back into the game with an explosive second quarter, in which they outscored Serbia 33-12, but ultimately came up short.

Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes was the team's highest scorer with 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field. Boston Celtics guard Kemba Walker (18), Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton (16) and Indiana Pacers centre Myles Turner (10) also scored in double figures for the USA.

For Serbia, Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic earned game-high honours with 28 points on 10-for-17 shooting. Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic scored only nine points, but he dished out a team-high seven assists in his 20 minutes of game time.

Team USA will now play Poland on Saturday. With a win, they would finish in seventh place.

Czech Republic 94, Poland 84

Tomas Satoransky continued his strong tournament play with a 22-point, 12-assist double-double against Poland. The Bulls guard was highly efficient, shooting 8-for-14 from the field and committing only three turnovers.

Two other players scored 20 or more points for the Czech Republic in the win: Vojtech Hruban (24) and Jaromir Bohacik (21).

For Poland, Adam Waczynski (22) was the only player to score 20 or more points. A.J. Slaughter, however, had a big game with 12 points and 10 assists.

The Czech Republic will now play Serbia on Saturday for an opportunity to finish the tournament in fifth place.

Scott Rafferty

Scott Rafferty Photo

 

Scott Rafferty is an experienced NBA journalist who first started writing for The Sporting News in 2017. There are few things he appreciates more than a Nikola Jokic no-look pass, Klay Thompson heat check or Giannis Antetokounmpo eurostep. He's a member of the NBA Global team.