US Wins World Basketball Championship, First Time Since 1994

The result ended a 16-year wait for the USA, who had not won this tournament since 1994, fiba.com reports.
 
Down 17-14, the Americans reeled off 11 unanswered points in a stretch spanning the late part of the first quarter and early second for a 25-17 advantage and they stayed in front the rest of the way.
 
Kevin Durant gave his team their first double-digit lead, 31-21, midway through the second period. The Turks fought bravely but never got close enough to prove a real threat.
 
Durant then hit his sixth and seventh three-pointers – the latter one tying Puerto Rico’s Larry Ayuso for most in a game at the FIBA World Championship – consecutively for a 48-32 advantage just two minutes into the third quarter to account for more than half of his team’s points (26 of 48).

Turkish team leader Turkoglu could only watch from the bench as his knee injury forced him back on the sidelines.
 
Omer Onan hit three of four throws and Arslan knocked another long bomb for six straight points that got the home side within 52-41.

Derrick Rose showed off his speed to score four quick points in the open court at the start of the fourth and Odom later scored inside for the USA’s first 20-point lead, 70-50.
 
He later had a tip-in off as Rose missed a free-throw for a three-point play.
 
Tunceri knocked down a three-pointer and fed Gonlum underneath for an easy two that got Turkey within 74-57 but at the other end he failed to close in on Odom who made him pay with a jumper for his eighth and ninth points of the period.
 
Westbrook and Turkoglu traded three-pointers for 79-62 and the former then threw an alley-oop to Iguodala to add some stylish finishing touches.
 
Durant finished with a game-high 28 points.