International Basketball Blog – Page 27 – NBA Blog

Russia beats Argentina to win Olympic bronze

Alexei Shved scored 25 points — 13 in the fourth quarter — and Russia won its first medal in Olympic men’s basketball with an 81-77 win on Sunday over Argentina, whose players angrily confronted the referees after the final horn following a wild scramble in the closing seconds.

Andrei Kirilenko added 20 points and Vitaliy Fridzon 19 for Russia, which finished ninth at the Beijing Games four years ago.

Manu Ginobili scored 21 and Andres Nocioni 16 for Argentina, which was looking to add another bronze to its Olympic collection after winning one in China and gold eight years ago in Athens.

Fridzon’s layup with 5.2 seconds left sealed it for Russia, which came away with the ball after it changed hands several times near midcourt. When the game ended, several Argentine players surrounded referees Bill Kennedy, Jose Carrion and Juan Arteaga in protest and guard Pablo Prigioni kicked an electronic clock off the scorer’s table…

Down by six points early in the second quarter, Russia reeled off 12 straight points to open a 33-27 lead. Shved made a 3-pointer to start the run and Kirilenko, who will also being playing with the Timberwolves next season, capped the spurt with a jumper.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Full coverage of Olympic basketball is here.

Age limit unlikely for 2016 Olympic basketball games

NBA commissioner David Stern’s push to see an age limit of 23 for the men’s Olympic basketball tournament is losing steam.

At least when it comes to the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

FIBA chief Patrick Baumann, secretary general of the sport’s international governing body, said Saturday: “My feeling is that we will not be proposing a 23 age limit for the 2016 Olympic Games.”

“The NBA has come up with the idea to go with under 23 and at the same time to promote younger athletes,” Baumann said. “And also to make a (distinction) between the (new) World Cup and the Olympic Games (by making only the World Cup open to NBA players of all ages).

“From FIBA’s perspective, we understand the perspective from USA Basketball and the NBA,” Baumann continued. “I’m not sure (we) necessarily have the same idea, but we understand the owners’ concerns.”

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com

Timberwolves second-round pick Robbie Hummel signs in Spain

Minnesota Timberwolves second-round draft pick Robbie Hummel has signed a one-year contract to play this season with Obradoiro CAB in Santiago, Spain.

Hummel, a 6-foot-8 forward who averaged 16.4 points and 7.2 rebounds a game at Purdue University last season, was drafted 58th overall by Wolves president of basketball operations David Kahn this summer.

“It’s something we worked on in concert with the Timberwolves,” Hummel’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, said Thursday, Aug. 9.

— Reported by Bruce Brothers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press

Jeremy Lin to host basketball camp in China

NBA star Jeremy Lin says he hopes to boost young players’ enthusiasm for basketball at a four-day camp he plans to host this month in southern China.

Lin said Thursday at a news conference in Beijing that he expected 80 kids to attend. His Asian heritage makes him a huge draw in the homeland of former Houston Rockets star Yao Ming.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Memphis Grizzlies to play Real Madrid in preseason

The Memphis Grizzlies will open the 2012 preseason Oct. 6 against Real Madrid Baloncesto at FedExForum at 7 p.m.

With 30 Spanish League championships, Real Madrid is one of the most successful professional basketball teams in Europe and an affiliate of the soccer powerhouse of the same name. In addition to the Grizzlies, Real Madrid will also match up against the Toronto Raptors during the preseason.

— Reported by Michael Sheffield of Memphis Business Journal

Luol Deng may delay or skip wrist surgery

In his strongest implication yet that he either will forego surgery on the torn ligament in his left wrist altogether or postpone it until after the 2012-13 season, Deng said he planned to start camp on time.

“Did I look like I needed (surgery)?” Deng said Monday evening. “I’m fine right now. I feel great. There are a lot of things I want to improve in my game that I want to focus on now. I want to be a better player than I was last year.

“I have time to make decisions and be healthy by the time we start (training camp).”

With Bulls’ camp roughly two months away, it’d be impossible for Deng to have surgery now and be ready for its start. He has told friends and associates he plans to avoid surgery. And coach Tom Thibodeau said last month he is under that impression as well.

— Reported by K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune

Patty Mills scores 39 for Australia against Great Britain

Patty Mills scored a tournament-high 39 points and Australia beat Britain 106-75 on Saturday to earn a spot in the quarterfinals of the men’s Olympic basketball competition.

The San Antonio Spurs guard and former Trail Blazer had 15 points in the third quarter to spark Australia’s comeback. Matt Dellavedova made all three of his 3-point attempts in the period as Australia rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit…

Joel Freeland, the 6-foot-10, 250-pound Englishman the Blazers drafted in 2006, had 16 points for Britain, now 0-4 in its Olympic debut. Freeland signed a three-year contract with the Blazers in July.

— Reported by the Associated Press

See full Olympic basketball coverage. And follow @InsideHoops on Twitter.

Zack Rosen signs deal with Israeli club

Zack Rosen’s dream has come true, even if it’s 6,000 miles away.

The standout Penn point guard signed his first pro contract Thursday night, with Hapoel Holon of the Israeli Super League. Rosen broke the news himself, putting up a picture of the contract on his Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Rosen, 23, played for the Quakers from 2008-12 and graduated as Penn’s all-time leader in assists (588), games started (115) and minutes played (4,198). The reigning Ivy League Player of the Year also ended his Penn career third in school history in points, threes made and free throw percentage.

— Reported by CSN Philly

Matt Janning signs to play in Italy

Montepaschi Siena kept adding perimeter help on Friday with the signings of Matt Janning, a shooting guard who will make his Turkish Airlines Euroleague debut next season. Janning (1.97 meters, 24 years old) made his debut in the Italian League last season with Casale Monferrato, which whom he averaged 12.7 points over 25 games.

— Reported by Euroleague.net

Box Score: USA 156, Nigeria 73

Nigeria
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
I Diogu, F	30	11-17	0-2	5-6	4	3	7	0	0	0	4	3	27
D Obasohan, F	20	2-5	2-5	2-2	1	3	4	2	0	0	4	2	8
O Oyedeji, C	9	0-2	0-0	0-0	1	1	2	1	0	0	1	1	0
A Skinn, 3F	22	1-7	1-4	0-0	0	1	1	2	0	0	6	1	3
A Aminu, 4F	26	2-8	0-5	3-4	0	3	3	4	1	1	2	1	7
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
E Ibekwe	5	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	0
C Oguchi	20	4-11	2-7	1-2	1	2	3	0	1	0	1	3	11
K Archibong	14	0-2	0-0	0-0	1	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	0
R Oruche	18	3-7	1-4	0-0	0	0	0	2	0	0	5	0	7
E Ugboaja	16	4-6	0-0	0-0	1	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	8
A Aminu	20	1-3	0-0	0-0	2	4	6	1	0	0	1	0	2
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
		28-68	6-27	11-14	11	19	30	15	2	1	24	13	73
		41.2%	22.2%	78.6%	Team TO (pts off): 25 (0)

United States
STARTERS	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
K Durant, F	17	5-9	4-7	0-0	0	1	1	6	1	0	0	1	14
L James, F	11	3-5	0-1	0-0	0	2	2	5	1	0	1	1	6
T Chandler, C	14	1-2	0-0	0-0	3	2	5	0	0	0	0	1	2
K Bryant, G	11	6-8	2-2	2-2	2	1	3	2	2	0	0	2	16
C Paul, G	22	3-5	1-3	0-0	0	2	2	7	2	0	1	1	7
BENCH	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
R Westbrook	14	7-8	3-4	4-5	0	0	0	2	3	0	1	0	21
D Williams	18	5-6	2-3	1-2	0	0	0	11	0	0	0	1	13
A Iguodala	21	3-3	3-3	0-0	1	3	4	1	1	0	1	0	9
K Love	23	6-9	3-6	0-0	2	4	6	2	0	1	1	0	15
J Harden	20	3-8	1-5	0-0	0	2	2	4	1	0	1	0	7
A Davis	15	4-4	0-0	1-2	0	6	6	0	0	0	0	3	9
C Anthony	14	13-16	10-12	1-3	1	3	4	1	1	0	1	2	37
TOTALS		FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
		59-83	29-46	9-14	9	26	35	41	12	1	7	12	156
		71.1%	63.0%	64.3%	Team TO (pts off): 7 (0)

Flagrant Fouls: None
Technical Fouls: None