Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic scored 23 points to lead Montenegro to a much-needed 87-81 victory over Sweden at EuroBasket on Monday. Also, Serbia, Turkey and Germany extended their records to four group stage wins.
Vucevic also grabbed 15 rebounds and delivered four assists in Tampere, Finland, as Montenegro overcame a blip in the third quarter to post its first win at the continental tournament, keeping its hopes alive of reaching the round of 16.
Pelle Larsson led the Swedes with 28 points.
Montenegro had a 40-34 halftime lead but Sweden was the better team returning from the locker room and out-scored its rival in the third quarter 31-24 to take the lead. A strong effort by Kyle Allman, who scored 10 points in less than two minutes for an 80-77 lead with 1:50 left, helped Montenegro recover and win the contest in Group B.
The group phase of 24 teams is being played in four countries. The top four teams from each group advance to the knockout phase in Riga, Latvia, from Sept. 6-14.
Montenegro can qualify with another victory against winless Britain, arguably the weakest team in the group.
Serbia, Turkey, Germany stay perfect
Serbia remained unbeaten and knocked the winless Czech Republic out of playoffs contention after a comfortable 82-60 win.
A lineup with Nikola Jovic, Nikola Jokic and Nikola Milutinov propelled the Serbs to 27-5 after the first period. Milutinov finished with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals.
Serbia’s win also lifted Latvia into the round of 16.
Germany stayed unbeaten in Group B with a 120-57 victory over Britain, which resisted in the early stages before collapsing. Franz Wagner had a double-double of 18 points and 10 assists in just 18 minutes of play and Tristan Da Silva scored 25 points for the Germans.
Already qualified from Group A, Turkey made light work of Estonia by 84-64 in Riga. Turkey dominated and built a 12-point lead after 10 minutes.
Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun was again decisive for Turkey with 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
It was the first time since 2009 that Turkey managed to secure four wins in a single EuroBasket. Estonia dropped to 1-3 ahead of its final group game against Portugal on Wednesday. Turkey will face Serbia in a game that determines the group winner.
Latvia defeated Portugal 78-62 to improve its record to 2-2, with Kristaps Porzingis collecting 21 points, nine rebounds, three assists and a block for the hosts.
Lithuania clinched a spot in the round of 16 and handed host Finland its first loss by 81-78. Azuolas Tubelis posted 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Rokas Jokubaitis 16 points and nine assists before he was forced off injured in the final period.
Finland star Lauri Markkanen, held to 7 points in the first half, rallied to finish with 17, 11 rebounds and six assists.
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The Associated Press
