France vs. Lithuania Olympic Basketball: Grades, Twitter Reaction and Analysis

After a sluggish first half, France was able to dominate Lithuania in the third and fourth quarters en route to an 82-74 victory in London on Thursday. 

France improved its record to 2-1 in Group A, with the lone loss coming against the United States. With just two games left before the quarterfinals begin, France is looking like a serious medal contender right now. 

Tweets of the Game

Sebastian Pruiti of Grantland.com helped put this game in big-picture perspective. 

"

The Winner of Lithuania vs. France puts themselves in a very good position to get the 2 seed in group A. That means no Team USA til finals

— SebastianPruiti (@SebastianPruiti) August 2, 2012"

Temisan Okomi of Nigeria hopes that France is able to wrap up its position before those two countries play on August 6. 

"

France vs Lithuania; men's basketball on 206 now. Pray for a France win. Maybe by the time we play them, they won't need to play hard..

— Temisan Okomi (@temiokomi) August 2, 2012"

Ethan Strauss, NBA lead writer for Bleacher Report, got a little snarky about the play of Tony Parker. 

"

Tony Parker is great at being really good

— Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) August 2, 2012"

Grades for Key France Players

Nicolas Batum: A

After struggling in France's first game against the United States, Batum has hit his stride. He scored 14 points against Argentina on July 31 and had 21 against Lithuania on 8-of-11 shooting. He also added six rebounds. 

If Batum can find a way to play like this for the rest of the Olympics, France could be very dangerous in the quarterfinals.

Tony Parker: A-

This game was all about Batum and Parker for the French team, as they combined for 48 points, of which Parker had 27.

Parker's eye did not give him any problems, as he had his best offensive performance of the Olympics, shooting 9-of-14. He only had two assists.

Boris Diaw: B+

While Batum and Parker were the clear stars of the show, Diaw came in and did a lot of grunt work, with 10 points and seven rebounds, to put Lithuania away in the second half.

Grades for Key Lithuania Players

Linas Kleiza: B

Kleiza did not have a good shooting night, despite leading the team with 17 points. He struggled to find his rhythm, though his 5-of-11 performance does not seem that bad. He was no match for Diaw down low.

Lithuania needed Kleiza to step up in this game, and he was unable to do so.

Martynas Pocius: A

He didn't have much help from his teammates, but Pocius was outstanding for Lithuania. He was effective from the inside and outside, shooting 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc to finish with 15 points. 

Game MVP: Nicolas Batum

As mentioned above, I love what Batum was able to do in this game. His presence on offense and defense was the biggest reason France pulled away in the second half. He needs big games throughout the tournament to give this team a chance at a medal.

What's Next?

France will lock horns with Tunisia on Friday, and Lithuania takes on the United States.

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