Germany — which led Team USA by 16 points in the second half of a tune-up game only to have Anthony Edwards spark an American comeback — will get their chance at revenge. And on a much bigger stage.
Franz Wagner returned from his ankle injury and scored 16 points to lead Germany, which held on for the 81-79 win against Latvia when the Thunder’s Davis Bertans attempted game-winner hit the back of the rim and bounced away.
Germany won despite a rough 4-of-26 shooting night from the Raptors’ Dennis Schroder. Andreas Obst scored 13 for Germany, which at 6-0 is the only undefeated team left in the World Cup. This is a team with the talent and style of play capable of knocking off the USA in the semifinal on Friday.
Canada advanced to the other semifinal with a 100-89 win over Slovenia in a game where Luka Doncic was ejected with a little more than six minutes left in the game for arguing a no-call with an official and picking up his second technical of the game. It might not have mattered, Canada was up by 15 when Doncic was tossed, partly because Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went off for 31 points and continued his push for tournament MVP (he has the best case of anyone left).
Canada took charge of this game with a 19-5 run to open the third quarter, and they never looked back. The Knicks’ RJ Barrett added 24 points for Canada, which will now face Serbia on Sunday in the other World Cup semifinal.
Doncic wasn’t alone. Canada’s Dillon Brooks also was ejected from this quarterfinal matchup, and after the game he greeted his teammates in the hallway wearing boxing gloves.
With the outcomes of these games, Serbia and Germany automatically qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics, representing Europe. Latvia and Slovenia can still make it to Paris through qualifying tournaments next summer. (The USA and Canada had already qualified for Paris, representing the Americas.)