FIBA World Cup Recap: Another Jazzman Advances to the Final 4

Utah Jazz players continue to have success on the FIBA World Cup front. On Wednesday, Jazz forward Kelly Olynyk and Team Canada outlasted Slovenia in the quarter-final knockout round, 100-89.

Canada now advances to the semi-finals and plays Serbia for a shot to play in the championship. The game featured NBA All-Stars on both sides and was a tight contest for much of the game, featuring a whopping 18 lead changes in the first half.

However, it was all Canada in the second half as it outscored its opponent by 22 points to cruise to the victory.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all scorers with 31 points, while New York Knicks forward RJ Barrett contributed 24. All-NBA talent Luka Dončić led Slovenia with 26 points in a losing cause.

Dončić received two technical fouls in the contest and was ejected with 7:06 left in regulation, but at that stage, the game had gotten out of reach. Olynyk logged a total of 23 minutes and scored seven points while adding five rebounds to contribute to the victory.

Over the six tournament games thus far, Olynyk has averaged 11.1 points and 5.3 rebounds a contest. The way it’s trending, two Jazz players could be participating in the finals.

Walker Kessler and Team USA will be a heavy favorite against Serbia, while Canada will be expected to get the win over Germany. The final four games begin on Friday, with the championship game slated for September 10.

Follow Inside The Jazz on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe on YouTube for breaking Jazz news videos and live-stream