Basketball Capsules: Durant, Love send U.S. to 2-0 start at worlds
ISTANBUL (AP) — An arena that was nearly covered in Slovenian green grew louder with every U.S. miss.
Playing a rare early game, the United States had stalled after a quick start, and a double-digit lead was down to five as halftime approached.
Then, every time the Americans needed them, Kevin Durant seemed to get on the scoreboard and Kevin Love was on the backboard.
Durant scored 22 points, Love added 10 points and 11 rebounds in a gritty 13 minutes off the bench, and the Americans beat Slovenia 99-77 on Sunday in an opening-round game.
"They did a great job of fighting, getting stops and making plays, and we know that we can't go out here and blow every team out," Durant said. "We had to make this a grind game and we did that, and a good job of keeping our composure."
Rudy Gay finished with 16 points for the Americans (2-0), while Russell Westbrook and Andre Iguodala each had 11. Durant shot 8 of 13 before sitting out the fourth quarter and Love always seemed to be around the ball — even when a Slovenian player tried holding his arm so he couldn't get it.
Bostjan Nachbar scored 13 points for Slovenia (1-1), which had an enormous edge in the stands but not enough to match the Americans on the court.
"I think we tried our best. We made Team USA play their best basketball, which was very important," said Nachbar, who once played with the New Jersey Nets. "I think across 40 minutes you could see which team was better, I don't think there was a question about it, but for us, especially for young players, it was a big confidence booster."
Slovenian fans, many dressed in green shirts, lined the streets outside the arena some 90 minutes before tipoff. They filled large areas throughout the building, and stood and roared when the Slovenians came out for pregame warmups.
There wasn't as much for them to cheer about once the game started.
"We're used to that playing in Spain and Greece, so it was cool," Durant said. "I think we had to do a better job of holding onto the game and keeping them quiet by making plays, and I think we did that."
Durant ripped the ball away on Slovenia's opening possession and raced in for a dunk about 20 seconds into the game. Nachbar answered with a basket, but the Americans ran off 10 straight points, with Durant nailing a 3-pointer before throwing down another dunk for a 12-2 lead.
The Americans made eight of their first 11 shots from the field and led 23-11 after one quarter, then suddenly went cold in the second.
They didn't make a field goal for the first 6½ minutes of the period, allowing Slovenia to crawl within 28-23 on Sani Becirovic's free throws with 3:36 to go. Westbrook snapped the U.S. out of that drought with a basket, then fed Love for another to start an 8-0 spurt that made it 36-23.
Love later flexed his muscle for another basket, grabbing an offensive rebound with one arm while Uros Slokar was holding the other, and putting it back in while being fouled.
"I was actually just trying to put it right over the rim," Love said. "It happened to go off glass and it's good to have a little bit of luck on your side."
Love is earning more of a role with the team after his minutes were limited by injuries during much of training camp.
"I know if I'm going to stay in the game and play minutes, I have to get out there and get every rebound and that's kind of what Coach (Mike Krzyzewski) tells me," Love said.
The Americans led by 14 points at halftime before putting it away midway through the third quarter. Lamar Odom and Derrick Rose made consecutive 3-pointers, Iguodala had a steal and dunk, and Durant added a basket and 3-pointer for a 59-32 bulge with 4½ minutes remaining.
The Slovenians got little from Phoenix Suns guard Goran Dragic, who had 16 points in their opening victory over Tunisia. He finished with seven points on 2-of-8 shooting. Gasper Vidmar scored 10.
The Americans face Brazil on Monday night, then have an off day before their final two games in group play.
"No relax, never relax until the tournament's over," Odom said. "Then we have two or three weeks until training camp. Then we'll relax."
Group A
Angola 79, Jordan 65
Miguel Lutonda had 16 points and Angola (1-1) bounced back from a 50-point loss to Serbia in its opening game.
Jordan (0-2), which was coming off a 76-75 loss to Australia in its opener, got within 59-55 on a 3-pointer by Mousa Alawadi with 4:38 to play. Lutonda answered with a 3 29 seconds later and Jordan got no closer.
Rasheim Wright had 18 points for Jordan.
Germany 82, Serbia 81, 2 OT
Jan-Hendrik Jagla hit a desperation 3-pointer to beat the shot clock with 1:03 left in the second overtime and Germany held on.
After four free throws pulled Serbia within 82-81, Milenko Tepic of Serbia missed a layup with 3 seconds left.
Jagla finished with 22 points and nine rebounds for Germany (1-1), which lost 78-74 to Argentina in its opening game.
Kosta Perovic had 20 points for Serbia (1-1), which played again without two of its top players who were suspended for their part in a brawl in an exhibition game against Greece.
Argentina 74, Australia 72
Pablo Prigioni hit a 3-pointer with 33 seconds left and Luis Scola converted two late free throws for Argentina in another close win.
Adam Gibson missed a last-second 3-point attempt for Australia (1-1).
Scola finished with 31 points for Argentina (2-0), the team ranked No. 1 in FIBA world rankings.
Argentina edged Germany 78-74 in its opener.
Joe Ingles scored 22 points for Australia and Patty Mills added 21.
Group B
Croatia 75, Iran 54
Roko Ukic and Bojan Bogdanovic both scored 13 points for Croatia.
Hamed Haddadi, who plays for the Memphis Grizzlies, had 27 points for Iran (0-2).
Ante Tomic finished with 12 points for Croatia (1-1), which lost 106-78 to the United States on Saturday.
The Croatians pulled away with an early 11-0 run and led by as many as 22 points in the first half.
Brazil 80, Tunisia 65
Leandro Barbosa scored 21 points and Tiago Splitter added 16 for Brazil (2-0), which will face the United States (2-0) on Monday.
Barbosa scored 16 points in the first quarter — as many as Tunisia.
Marouan Kechrid had 15 points for Tunisia (0-2).
Group C
China 83, Ivory Coast 73
Yi Jianlian of the Washington Wizards scored 26 points and Wang Shipeng added 25 for China (1-1), which held a comfortable lead throughout the second half.
Mouloukou Diabate had 20 points for Ivory Coast (0-2).
Diabate's 3-pointer with 1:09 to play brought Ivory Coast within 80-73 but China closed the game by going 3 of 4 from the free throw line.
Greece 83, Puerto Rico 80
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Vassilis Spanoulis scored 28 points to lead Greece (2-0) in the game that saw four lead changes and three ties in the fourth quarter alone.
Juan Jose Barea, who plays for the Dallas Mavericks, had 20 points for Puerto Rico (0-2).
Greece took the lead for good at 76-75 on two free throws by Spanoulis with 2:38 to play.
Greece had a decided edge at the free throw line going 20 of 33 while Puerto Rico was 9 of 18.
Turkey 65, Russia 56
Hedo Turkoglu, acquired recently by the Phoenix Suns, scored 14 points to lead Turkey (2-0), the host country for the 24-team tournament.
Turkey led 33-22 at halftime after holding Russia to seven points in the second quarter.
Sasha Kaun and Sergey Monya scored 13 points each for Russia (1-1), which finished 17 for 53 from the field (32.1 percent), including an 8-for-28 effort from 3-point range.
Group D
Lithuania 70, Canada 68
Linas Kleiza had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Lithuania (2-0), which rallied from a 17-point deficit in the second half.
Jermaine Anderson missed a last-second 3-pointer for Canada (0-2).
Lithuania used a 24-3 run to wipe out the 56-39 deficit with 5:19 to play in the third quarter. Tomas Delininkaitis' 3-pointer from the corner early in the fourth quarter gave Lithuania its first lead, 58-57.
Anderson had 15 points and Joel Anthony of the Miami Heat added 12 for Canada.
France 85, Lebanon 59
IZMIR, Turkey (AP) — Mickael Gelabale scored 18 points and Alain Koffi added 17 for France (2-0), which upset defending champion Spain in its opener.Jackson Vroman led Lebanon (1-1) with 19 points.
The game was delayed for over 15 minutes with 5:07 left in the second quarter after France's Nicolas Batum, who plays for the Portland Trail Blazers, dunked and twisted the rim. Volunteers and officials scrambled to put a new rim on the basket and reattach a net.
Spain 101, New Zealand 84
Spain, the defending champion, bounced back from its opening-day loss to France.
Ricky Rubio had 11 assists for Spain (1-1), which opened the game on a 13-3 run and finished 10 of 20 from 3-point range and 21 of 25 at the free throw line.
Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies led Spain with 22 points, while Rudy Fernandez of the Portland Trail Blazers added 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Kirk Penney scored 21 points to lead New Zealand (0-2).
WNBA
Catchings leads Fever past Liberty
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — After picking up some individual awards earlier in the day, Tamika Catchings led the Indiana Fever to a big win.
Catchings started the day by being selected the WNBA's defensive player of the year and earning the league's sportsmanship award, and then was picked for the all-defensive team.
She ended it with a 17-point, 13-rebound effort to help the Fever beat the New York Liberty 75-67 on Sunday night to tie their best-of-three Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Catchings had her 14th double-double in 30 career playoff games to help the Fever fight off elimination and earn one more chance to defend their Eastern Conference crown. Game 3 is Wednesday at New York, with the winner advancing to face Atlanta in the conference finals.
Indiana had lost four straight, but the Fever opened Sunday's game with one of the best defensive quarters in their postseason history, holding the Liberty to 3-for-15 shooting while building a 21-8 lead.
Indiana tied its record for fewest points allowed in a quarter in a playoff game.
"We know we're capable of winning games," Catchings said. "We know as a team how good of a team we are. We're a great team. We clean up some things, we'll be OK."
Indiana trailed Detroit 1-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals last year, but recovered to win 2-1 and advance to the Finals for the first time.
"We were in this situation last year, of having our backs against the wall," Catchings said. "What are you going to do about it?"
Until last year, the team with home-court opened on the road and had Games 2 and 3 at home. This year, the league changed to a 1-1-1 format with the higher seeded team getting Games 1 and 3 at home.
New York outrebounded Indiana 39-25 in Game 1 on Thursday, but Indiana won that battle 41-36 on Sunday.
"We watched the tapes yesterday, and we came back and really watched and saw all the things we needed to do," Catchings said. "I think tonight, the biggest focus for us was rebounding. For the most part, we did a great job."
New York had won 12 of its previous 13 games, but the Fever held the Liberty to 37 percent shooting. Essence Carson scored 24 points and Cappie Pondexter had 20 for the Liberty, but they were the only New York players to score in double figures. The Liberty starters shot a combined 12 for 42 from the field.
"We could not put the ball in the hole," Liberty coach Anne Donovan said. "We had poor offense."
Indiana's Katie Douglas sprained her ankle in the regular-season finale and was scoreless in 27 minutes in Game 1 against New York. She was much more active in Game 2 and had 11 points and five assists.
"I don't know how much more worse it could have got for me the other night," Douglas said. "Just being passive and just kind of being in a fog on Thursday is definitely something that I wanted to fix, that mentality."
Tammy Sutton-Brown scored 14 points and former Liberty player Jessica Davenport had 10 points and eight rebounds for the Fever.
Carson scored 10 of her 12 first-half points in the second quarter to give New York's offense a boost, but Indiana still led 39-27 at the break.
The Fever opened the second half with a 9-0 run to break the game open. A long 2-point jumper by Douglas gave Indiana a 48-27 lead and led to a New York timeout. New York didn't score for nearly 3½ minutes to start the quarter, and Indiana led 64-46 at the end of the period.
New York outscored Indiana 21-11 in the fourth quarter, but that meant little to the Liberty. Carson said she knows what her team needs to do to advance.
"Be aggressive and lock it down on defense," she said. "Basic fundamentals."
-- Cliff Brunt
Fever's Catchings is WNBA's top defender again
NEW YORK (AP) — Indiana Fever forward Tamika Catchings has been named the WNBA's defensive player of the year for the second straight year and fourth time overall.
Catchings received 30 of 39 votes from a panel of sports writers and broadcasters. She beat out Chicago's Sylvia Fowles (seven votes), Minnesota's Nicky Anosike (one) and Connecticut rookie Tina Charles (one).
Catchings, the first to receive award four times, also won in 2005 and 2006.
The Fever host New York in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday night. They trail 1-0 in the best-of-three series.
Catchings led the WNBA in steals (2.26 spg) for a record sixth time, helping the Fever finish fifth in scoring defense (78.3 points per game allowed). She was eventh in total defensive rebounds (185) and tied for 10th in blocked shots (30).
Her 77 steals this season raised her career total to 708 and moved her ahead of Sheryl Swoopes and into second place on the WNBA's all-time list, behind only Los Angeles' Ticha Penicheiro (728).
Catchings, a six-time All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist, was also fifth in the league in scoring (18.2 ppg) this season.
Elsewhere
Jordan, Bobcats make donation to N.C. schools
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Michael Jordan and his Bobcats NBA team will donate $250,000 to middle-school athletics programs in Charlotte, North Carolina's largest city.
The Charlotte Observer says the NBA hall-of-famer and North Carolina native will announce the gift Monday.
Jordan, who made a fortune playing in the NBA and marketing his image as one of the world's best-known athletes, talked about being a contributor to the Charlotte community when he bought the Bobcats this spring.
Charlotte schools cut $1.25 million cut from athletics programs this year and school officials announced a plan to charge students $50 for middle-schoolers and $100 high-schoolers who play.
