Lithuania vs. France: 2014 FIBA Bronze-Medal Game Score and Twitter Reaction

In what was unquestionably one of the most entertaining games of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, France defeated Lithuania 95-93 Saturday in Spain to secure the bronze medal. 

According to Eurohoops.net, it was a landmark victory for the French:

Lithuania received a huge effort from Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas, who finished with 25 points and nine rebounds, but he was neutralized by the 27 points from Portland Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum for France.

While both Lithuania and France suffered disappointment in the semifinals by falling short of their ultimate goal, there was still plenty to play for in Saturday's game.

Lithuania entered the matchup with hopes of equaling its third-place result from the 2010 FIBA World Cup. Conversely, France's best previous finish was fourth in 1954.

Prior to the game, Batum made it clear that his squad was ready to put Friday's semifinal loss to Serbia in the rearview mirror, per FIBA.com.

"We have to win," Batum said. "If we don't find the motivation, there's no point in competing in this sport. The final, that's over with, we won't play it. We can't dwell on it and we need to move on to something else. Let's carry on being conquerors."

There was no love lost between these two sides, as they met in the 2013 EuroBasket final in Slovenia, according to FIBA's official Twitter account:

France won that game convincingly, so Lithuania figured to have a huge chip on its shoulder. The Lithuanians also had a bit of added pressure, with national minister of foreign affairs Linas Linkevicius urging them to come away victorious:

It would have been easy for the French to come out flat after losing to Serbia by just five points Friday, but they looked to be the hungrier team early on. France raced out to a 7-2 lead, with all seven points being scored by center Joffrey Lauvergne.

Batum ultimately paced Les Bleus with eight points in the opening quarter, and they led 22-19 entering the second.

Much like the first quarter, the second frame was back and forth. The star players for both teams did much of the damage, with Batum and Lauvergne excelling for France, while Valanciunas looked great offensively for Lithuania.

According to Eurohoops.net, France and Lithuania were particularly effective in terms of exploiting mismatches:

Lithuania gained some ground in the second quarter, as it outscored France 23-21 and pulled to within one point at the break. Valanciunas finished the first half with 12 points to lead the Lithuanians, while the vast majority of France's offense went through two players, per Euroleague Basketball on Twitter:

The tide started to turn even more in Lithuania's favor at the start of the second half. Not only did the Lithuanians do a much better job on Batum and Lauvergne defensively, but they also started to heat up from beyond the arc on the offensive end.

In fact, consecutive three-point daggers from Adas Juskevicius and Houston Rockets forward Donatas Motiejunas put Lithuania on top just a few minutes into the quarter:

Although Batum started to find his range again as the quarter progressed, Lithuania's lead continued to balloon. Valanciunas was the main reason for that, as he added six points in the third and helped Lithuania to a 71-64 lead with just one quarter left to play.

France simply had no answer for Valanciunas, which likely has Raptors fans quite excited for the upcoming NBA season. If Valanciunas' play against the French is any indication, Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey could see Toronto utilizing him to greater effect in 2014-15:

Just when it seemed like France was potentially down for the count, it mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter. The French grittiness was on full display as the slight underdogs chipped away at Lithuania's advantage.

Batum led the way, but San Antonio Spurs forward Boris Diaw finally started to contribute in a big way as well. With less than five minutes remaining in the game, Diaw put France back on top 77-75.

Valanciunas refused to be denied, however, as he tied it at 77 with a thunderous dunk and then converted an old-fashioned three-point play to make it 80-77 Lithuania with about three minutes remaining on the clock.

A 5-0 run put France back on top 82-80, though, and it was punctuated by a Diaw layup with just a minute and a half left.

Diaw extended the lead to four with another basket, and guard Thomas Heurtel added a pair of free throws with 30 seconds left to give France a seemingly insurmountable 86-80 lead.

Closing out the game would prove difficult, though. Juskevicius hit two free throws and then pulled Lithuania to within one point with a bucket and the foul 16 seconds before the final horn. That came on the heels of Heurtel missing two key free throws.

Heurtel would atone for his misses with two makes on his ensuing trip to the line, giving France a three-point lead, per Sportnado:

The cat-and-mouse game continued, with both teams trading successful spells at the charity stripe. France held a 90-89 lead with eight ticks remaining after Renaldas Seibutis converted two free throws.

A missed free throw by Batum left the door open a crack for Lithuania with four seconds left. Valanciunas made two free throws to make it 93-92 France. Batum made two free throws to extend the lead to three, and French forward Florent Pietrus smartly fouled Jonas Maciulis with one second left so he couldn't attempt a three-pointer. The Lithuanian forward purposely missed his second free throw, but France grabbed the defensive rebound to come away with the win.

There is no question that both of these teams have a long way to go before reaching the United States' level, but they have certainly proved capable of competing with the world's best teams at the international level.

Lithuania has been among the elite teams in the world for quite some time, and this loss doesn't change that. A second consecutive bronze in this tournament would have been a great result, but reaching the semis was a big deal nonetheless.

Les Bleus made it this far without Spurs point guard Tony Parker and Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah, so the sky is the limit. France also upset a full-strength Spanish team on its home court in the quarterfinals in addition to winning the bronze medal, so this tournament was most definitely a success.

Lithuania and France will now look ahead to the 2015 EuroBasket tournament, as two 2016 Olympic berths will be on the line. A rematch of the 2013 final between them is a very real possibility, and it would be yet another chapter in what is quickly becoming one of the best rivalries in international basketball.

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