Defending champion US dodged a major upset as it barely survived Turkey, 93-92, in the Group E game of the 2019 FIBA World Cup on Tuesday night in Shanghai, China.
Turkey missed four free throws in the final seconds of overtime, allowing US to escape with its second win in as many games.
In an AP report, Khris Middleton dropped two foul shots with 2.1 seconds left in overtime to cap a wild finish to a wild game.
“It was a heck of a game,” US coach Gregg Popovich said in the report. “As we all know, it was anybody’s game. We will accept the win.”
The US wasted a 15-point lead in the first half and needed two free throws from Jayson Tatum with one-tenth of a second left just to get into overtime.
US came back from five points down in the extra session as Turkey wasted a golden opportunity of pulling off an upset when it went 0 for 4 from the foul line in the last nine seconds.
Chris Middleton paced the US with 15 points. Kemba Walker scored 14, while Jayson Tatum finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds but suffered a sprained ankle in the closing seconds of the game.
Ilyasova led Turkey with 23 points.
