Why did Jimmer Fredette not play vs Lithuania today? Closer look at Team USA star's absence on 3X3 basketball squad in Olympics
Jimmer Fredette and Team USA entered Thursday's game against Lithuania with a 0-2 record in the 3x3 Olympic basketball competition. In the previous matchup against Poland, it came down to the wire but they eventually ran out of gas to pull off a win.
Fredette sustained a groin injury in that game, causing him to sit their match versus Lithuania. With only three minutes to go in the game, he was seen being attended to by a medical staff.
Without Jimmer Fredette, Team USA once again struggled, and are now 0-3 after losing to Lithuania, 18-20.
Against Lithuania, Team USA went off to a good start as they led 10-6 with 5:43 minutes to go in the contest. The shots were falling and the defense was on point for the USA. However, momentum wouldn't last long on their side as Lithuania converted on straight field goals from two-point range to tie the game at 10-10 apiece.
USA Basketball would hold a one-point lead at the 4:12 mark, courtesy of a strong drive to the basket by Barry Canyon. From that point on, it was a neck-and-neck battle between the two ball clubs.
With 45 seconds remaining in the game, Lithuania held a five-point lead with complete momentum to close the victory out. Despite scoring three points to cut the deficit to just two points, there was little to no time remaining for any comeback to come to fruition.
The shotmaking improved for Team USA but their struggles in maintaining their lead came back once again to haunt them.
They are scheduled to go up against Latvia today at 2:00 p.m. PST with a chance to finally get one under the win column in the 3x3 Olympic basketball competition.
Jimmer Fredette's teammate reacted to Team USA's disappointing 19-17 loss to Poland in the Olympic 3x3 Basketball
Following the 19-17 loss to Poland, Jimmer Fredette's teammate, Canyon Barry, highlighted the missed shots off good opportunities as an area of improvement for their next game, as per The Associated Press' Kristie Rieken.
"We're just not making shots," Barry said. "That's what it comes down to. We had a lot of good looks and they just didn't fall tonight."
Team USA had multiple opportunities to win the game but struggled to close it out. Jimmer Fredette made a strong drive to the cup to bring his team within one at the 1:24 mark, however, he missed a shot from two-point range that would have given his team a one-point lead with 1:10 remaining. Canyon Barry also missed a two-point shot with 39 seconds remaining.
Despite the misses from Poland during the dying seconds of the game, Team USA struggled to secure the boards that would have given them another chance to tie.