Lithuania remained undefeated in the basketball competition with an 89-80 win over Nigeria in the second game of the Rio Olympics for both teams. Mantas Kalnietis and Jonas Maciulis were joint top scorers with 21 points each while Ike Diogu paced the Nigerians with 19 points.
Nigeria take shock lead through 20 minutes, Lithuania turn the game around in the second half
The African side came in off of a loss in their opener while the Lithuanians were victorious in their Olympic debut for 2016. The game was much lower scoring than anticipated, Nigeria holding a surprising 16-13 lead after the first quarter. Both teams offense improved in the second quarter as Nigeria won the quarter 25-23 to take a 41-36 lead into the break.
The Lithuanians came out of the halftime break with a different mindset and it showed, outscoring Nigeria 29-13 to take control of the game with a 65-54 lead after 30 minutes. The African side tried to rally, pulling to within 84-79 with 47 seconds to play, but ultimately it would fall short as the final quarter was played on pretty even terms, Lithuania hitting five free throws down the stretch to preserve their lead.
Key performers and stats of the game
While Kalnietis and Maciulis were Lithuania's leaders, Renaldas Seibutis and Jonas Valanciunas combined to add 22 points while Domantas Sabonis chipped in with eight points and seven rebounds. Ten of Lithuania's 12 players scored.
Stats were pretty even as both teams shot over 50% from two-point range, 40% from the three point arc and 80% from the free throw stripe. With such even statistics, the difference may have been from the free throw line as Lithuania outscored Nigeria 17-8 from the charity stripe.
Next games
Lithuania will aim for their third straight win on Thursday when they square off with Argentina. The Argentines are coming off of a high-scoring win over Croatia and with a veteran team, the South Americans will start as clear favorites, but if the Lithuanians play such as they did the last three quarters, they certainly have a chance. With Group B wide open, both teams will look to this game as a key to advancing to the knockout stages.
Nigeria also returns to action on Thursday, facing a desperate Spain team. The Spaniards are 0-2 with shock losses to Croatia and Brazil and will look to this game as a platform to make a comeback in Group B while the Nigerians will see if they can hand Spain a third straight surprising defeat while picking up their first win in Rio.