Magic's Paolo Banchero, Team USA Loses First FIBA World Cup Game vs. Lithuania

Team USA is limping into the quarterfinals at the FIBA World Cup after an upset loss against Lithuania.

The United States men's national team is falling in the loss column for the first time at the FIBA World Cup following a 110-104 loss to Lithuania on Sunday in Manila, Philippines.

Both Lithuania and Team USA (4-1) were assured advancement to the eight-nation knockout tournament stage before Sunday's tip-off thanks to events from abroad. The red, white, and blue also secured a berth in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, as the Dominican Republic's loss to Serbia earlier in the day assured they'd be one of the top two American finishers.

But, in the meantime, the Lithuanians (5-0) remained perfect in World Cup play and won the second round's Group J thanks primarily to a dominant first quarter effort that saw them lead 31-12 after the first 10 minutes and a landslide victory in the rebounding battle. Lithuania won the glass war 43-27, a lead mostly built with 18 second chances compared to only nine for the Americans (leading to an 18-2 victory in points off those offensive boards).

Forced to play behind for most of the game, the Americans were primarily sustained by the scoring efforts of Anthony Edwards (Minnesota), whose 35 points were three short of Kevin Durant's American World Cup record set in 2010. Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero scored six points off the bench.

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Alas, the American reserves struggled to keep Lithuania off the board in the final frame after serving as the team's energizer in Friday's narrow win over Montenegro: Team USA put up 39 in the final period but Lithuania matched them, primarily sustained by four three-pointers that always seemed to come whenever the Americans inched closer. Lithuania shot 56 percent from the outside (14-of-25) in Sunday's win and four different players hit at least two while also winning the bench scoring struggle 61-38.

Vaidas Kariniauskas was Lithuania's leading scorer with 15 points while Tadas Sedekerskis was the headliner of the all-important rebounding battle with 11. Sunday's win was Lithuania's first over the US in World Cup play since 1998, which marked the most recent edition where the Americans sent amateur players.

Knockout round play begins on Tuesday in Manila and Team USA will face Italy at a time to be determined. The Italians earned victory in the second's Group I via tiebreaking win over Serbia on Friday and are assured of their best World Cup finish since 1998 in Greece.