OLYM - Argentina too much for Lithuania, USA cruise past France

LONDON (Olympics) - Argentina capped a frantic and exciting first day of the Olympic Men’s Basketball Tournament with a pulsating and triumphant display against Lithuania.

There were also wins on Sunday in Group A for the United States and Nigeria.

In a classic encounter between two sides that have met in huge games in recent times, including the Bronze Medal Game of the 2008 Olympics that was won by Argentina, the South Americans took control with a terrific second quarter and won 102-79.

They stretched a 24-23 lead to 51-39 at half-time.

Argentina dived for loose balls, hit three-pointers and turned steals into points.

They executed the game-plan to near perfection, including the last play of the first half when coming out of a timeout.

With just a few seconds to go, Argentina whipped the ball around the perimeter and it ended up in the hands of Carlos Delfino in the left corner.

The NBA star buried a three-pointer for the 12-point lead.

Luis Scola had 14 points at the break and Manu Ginobili 12 and Argentina were seven of 16 from long range.

Scola finished with 32 points, Ginobili 21 and Delfino 20.

Lithuania tried to come back but Argentina weren’t to be denied.

The best moment of the game for Argentina came in the fourth quarter when leading 88-69.

Andres Nocioni fell out of bounds while battling for possession and slid across the scorer’s table before landing on his back.

Scola and Ginobili, his teammates on the 2004 Olympic-gold medal winning side, sprinted over to help him off the floor.

Newcomer Facundo Campazzo, a point guard, played the entire third quarter and excelled for Argentina.

Earlier in the day, Nigeria won an all-African battle with Tunisia.

They stormed into a 19-point lead but then had to hold on for dear life before recording a 60-56 triumph.

Nigeria had a dream start and appeared to be in total command at half-time with a 31-15 lead.

Alada Aminu had nine of his team-high 15 points at the break and Tony Skinn all seven of his for Nigeria, but more importantly Tunisia ground to a halt when they had the ball.

They had 12 turnovers and were six of 27 shooting from the floor.

Led by captain Amine Rzig, Tunisia came back and closed the gap to two points late in the fourth quarter.

Ade Dagunduro was able to get into the lane and draw fouls, and made free-throws to put the result beyond doubt.

The United States only led France 22-21 at the end of the first quarter but had a 16-point advantage by half-time and pulled away for an easy 98-71 victory.

Kevin Durant had 15 points in the first half and ended up with a game-high 22.

"We are pleased,” USA coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

“We played a very good game against an outstanding team.

“France is so well coached and in (Tony) Parker they have as good a guard as there is in the tournament.

“I thought we did a good job defensively and we shared the ball.

“We assisted on 27 of our 31 buckets and we rebounded the ball very well.

“Overall it was a good first step for us beating an outstanding French team."

FIBA