FIBA World Cup: Knicks' Fournier, France Eliminated Early
Long removed from the New York Knicks' lineup rotation, Evan Fournier must now deal with a new and even more shocking form of exile.
Another strong shooting performance from Fournier wasn't enough to prevent one of the biggest surprises of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, as France's men's national basketball team was eliminated from championship consideration after an 88-86 defeat to Latvia on Sunday in Jakarta. Fournier led all participants with 27 points.
Sunday's loss was France's first instance of consecutive falls in preliminary World Cup play since the 2010 tournament in Turkey. Undefeated Latvia, missing its lone active NBA representation in former Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis, is making its maiden voyage in the competition.
"For sure, it's a nightmare after the defeat last Friday," French head coach Vince Collet said in the aftermath, per FIBA's official site. "We were expecting a reaction. I think we got it. In the first three quarters, we played much better, but it was not enough because we have suffered from, we sensed that our spirit was not at the Latvian level. I think that made the difference in the last couple of minutes."
One Knick's loss is another Knick's gain: Latvia's win ensured that they and Canada, which features Fournier's New York teammate RJ Barrett, will be the winners from Group H. Barrett had 17 points in Canada's 128-73 blowout win over Lebanon earlier on Sunday.
France's departure is one of the biggest shockers of the competition's infantile stages: boasting the talents of NBAers like Fournier, Rudy Gobert (Minnesota), and Nicolas Batum (LA Clippers), the French came in with high hopes, especially after a silver medal finish at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. France (0-2) also placed third at the last World Cup in 2019.
Fresh off a 30-point defeat in their opener against Barrett and the Canadians, France jumped out to an early lead thanks to a scorching start from Fournier. The Knicks' all-time single-season leader in successful three points had 15 points in the opening frame alone, including a buzzer-beater that created a 33-26 advantage after the first period. France's lead would reach as high as 13 and they led by 10 at the onset of the fourth quarter.
But the game changed when Nando de Colo was ejected after being charged with his second unsportsmanlike conduct foul, removing France's top facilitator (eight assists) from the game. Following de Colo's departure, Latvia (2-0) ended the game with a 22-11 run over the final 6:46, taking the lead on a pair of Rolands Šmits free throws with 37 seconds remaining. Fournier had a chance to get the lead back but missed a jumper with 21 to go, capping off a 9-of-18 outing from the field.
In addition to having them lose their cool, Latvia forced six turnovers from France in the final period. Artūrs Žagars led the team with 22 points, just ahead of Šmits' 20.
France will get one final chance to earn a win for their trouble, as they'll face equally downtrodden Lebanon on Tuesday (5:30 a.m. ET, ESPN+). Sunday's victors will do battle for the Group H win shortly after (9:30 a.m. ET, ESPN+).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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