In what was supposed to be a showcase on Day 1 for EuroBasket, Turkey took all the energy out of the Latvian fans in their 93-73 win over Latvia.
Cedi Osman scored 20 points and Shane Larkin had 20 points, six rebounds, and three assists for Turkey.
Kenas Sipahi shot 5-5 from the three-point line (6-6 overall) to finish with 19 points.
Rihards Lomazs led Latvia with 19 points.
The Kristaps Porzingis-Alperen Sengun matchup never materialized.
Sengun cruised with 16 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists while Porzingis struggled most of the game, finishing with 10 points on 3-12 shooting.
Turkey jumped out to an early 14-point lead behind a fast start from Cedi Osman. Lativa, playing at home, went on an 11-0 run to finish the first quarter to close to within three, 24-21.
Furkan Lorkmaz’s three-pointer pushed Turkey’s lead back up 10 at 32-22. Latvia responded with an 8-0 run behind Arturs Zagars, who scored all eight points.
Shane Larkin scored the last five points of the half to give Turkey a 47-39 halftime lead.
The third quarter belonged to Osman. When he wasn’t face-to-face with a Latvian player, he was terrorizing them with his ability to score. Osman scored 11 of his xx points in the quarter.
Shane Larkin was equally as hot, scoring eight points in the quarter.
Turkey led by as much as 26 in the fourth quarter.
Notes:
Blistering from the Three
Turkey shot 60% (15-25) from the three-point line. Seven of the made threes came from the right wing, with one coming from the right corner, three coming from the top, and four coming from the left wing.
Size Mattered
Turkey’s size played a significant role in the win. They out-rebounded Latvia 40-23 and outscored them in the paint, 32-18.
Kristaps’ Struggles
Not only did Porzingis struggle from the floor (3-12, 0-5 from three), but he also struggled with all parts of his game. He turned the ball over six times and only had four rebounds.
